Gender Equity Research: Women & Sport Around the Globe

Gender Equity Research: Women & Sport Around the Globenewframe2022-09-23T13:12:48+00:00

Gender Equity Research:
Women & Sport Around the Globe

Choose a country to learn more about:

Local Sport Initiatives
Female Athletes
National Policies Affecting Women in Sports
Sport & Society: Women in Leadership

Global Laws & Policies & Initiatives

Click on the dropdown menus to discover more about global gender equity laws & policies and global initiatives for women in sport.

Title IX

On June 23, 1972, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 was enacted, a historic piece of U.S. federal legislation that, among other things, guarantees girls and women equal opportunity to participate in scholastic sports.

Before Title IX, substantial inequalities existed for female athletes, receiving a mere two percent of schools’ athletic budgets with no option of obtaining athletic scholarships. As a result, only one in 27 girls played sports, further broadening the gender equity divide by limiting opportunities to gain valuable lessons through participation. Since the implementation of Title IX that number is now two in five, with approximately 2.8 million girls playing high school sports with the opportunity to earn university scholarships.

Simply allowing girls equal access to sports is proven to have significant effects both inside and outside the sporting arena. Studies continue to show that women who participate in sports suffer fewer health problems, have more self-confidence, and experience greater social and economic mobility. Title IX pushed America toward equalizing women’s rights and laid the foundation for generations of women across the globe to benefit from the beauty of sport.

Click here to learn more about Title IX.

Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, is often described as an international bill of rights for women. Consisting of a preamble and 30 articles, it defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination.

The Convention was the culmination of more than thirty years of work by the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, a body established in 1946 to monitor the situation of women and to promote women’s rights. The Commission’s work has been instrumental in bringing to light all the areas in which women are denied equality with men. These efforts for the advancement of women have resulted in several declarations and conventions, of which the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women is the central and most comprehensive document.

The implementation of CEDAW is monitored by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, a group of 23 independent experts on women’s rights from around the world.

Click here to learn more about CEDAW.

Beijing Declaration

The Beijing Declaration was formulated and announced during the Fourth World Conference on Women convened by the United Nations in September 1995 in Beijing, China. It was at this conference that the world agreed on a comprehensive plan to achieve legal equality on a global scale. The plan was known as the Beijing Platform for Action.

The Beijing Declaration led to renewed activism of women’s movement worldwide with an increase in political will and global visibility. Above all, it provided greater clarity on how to achieve equality and empowerment.

Click here to learn more about the Beijing Declaration and Beijing Platform for Action.

United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR 1325)

The first resolution on Women, Peace and Security, Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR1325), was unanimously adopted by the United Nations Security Council on October 31, 2000.

UNSCR1325 marked the first time the Security Council addressed the disproportionate and unique impact of armed conflict on women; recognized the under-valued and under-utilized contributions women make to conflict prevention, peacekeeping, conflict resolution, and peace-building. It also stressed the importance of women’s equal and full participation as active agents in peace and security.

National Action Plans for the implementation of UNSCR 1325 are national-level strategy documents that outline a government’s approach and course of action for localizing action on the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. These documents outline objectives and activities that countries take, both on a domestic and international level, to secure the human rights of women and girls in conflict settings; prevent armed conflict and violence, including against women and girls; and ensure the meaningful participation of women in peace and security.

Click here to learn more about UNSCR1325 and click here to view the National Action Plans for each country.

International Working Group Women & Sport (IWG)

Established in 1994, IWG is the world’s largest network dedicated to empowering women and girls through sport and physical activity. The IWG advocates for and runs programs globally to support gender equity in sport.

The IWG developed and remains guardian of the Brighton Declaration on Women and Sport. Updated in 2014, the Brighton plus Helsinki 2014 Declaration is “an international treaty that has become a road map to support the ongoing development of a more fair and equitable system of sport and physical activity, fully inclusive of women and girls.”

The IWG supports the World Conference on Women & Sport every four years. The conference is the largest gathering of experts on gender equity in sport and physical activity, with over 1500 delegates.

Click here to learn more about the IWG.

Brighton plus Helsinki 2014 Declaration on Women and Sport

Adopted during the 6th IWG World Conference on Women and Sport in Helsinki, Finland, the Brighton plus Helsinki Declaration underscores the importance of sport and physical activity on girls’ and women’s health, well-being, social capital and educational engagement and economic achievement.

Organizations and governments can become signatories of the Brighton plus Helsinki 2014 Declaration. As signatories, organizations are committing to fulfilling the Declaration’s 10 principles which are designed to achieve equity of opportunity for women and girls to participate, compete and build careers in sport and physical activity.

Click here to learn more about the Brighton plus Helsinki 2014 Declaration and view a list of signatories.

Women’s Olympic and Paralympic Participation Over Time

Click on the maps to expolore how women’s Olympic and Paralympic participation changed over time. Compare participation rates between countries and regions of the world.