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World Athletics has launched a comprehensive three-year action plan aimed at empowering women across various sectors of the sport, such as coaching and officiating. The initiative, introduced by the governing body, is designed to position athletics as a global model for equity and inclusion.
The Gender Leadership Taskforce’s strategic plan was revealed on Friday, just ahead of International Women’s Day on Saturday, alongside some stark global statistics.
While the World Athletics Council achieved gender parity with 50% representation in 2023, this progress has not been mirrored in leadership roles across the sport. Although 40% of international technical officials at the 2024 Olympics were women, only 27% of World Athletics’ 152 Gold level referees are female.
Additionally, women made up just 11% of coaches at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. World Athletics emphasized that this is a disproportionately low figure, especially considering the gender parity seen in athletes on the field. There is a strong focus on increasing the number of female high-performance coaches at major events.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe expressed his pride in the progress made but acknowledged there is more work to be done. “Athletics has gender parity in elite participation on the field of play, but we want this to be reflected off the field by empowering women and girls with equality of opportunity in leadership and decision-making roles across all facets of the sport,” he said.
The task force’s action plan includes initiatives to increase women’s representation in leadership positions, enhance gender equity among administrators, referees, and coaches, and raise awareness of gender equity through various programmes and campaigns.
Stephanie Hightower, Chair of the task force, said, “We are proud of the progress we have made so far, but we know challenges remain in achieving equitable gender representation among administrators, coaches and referees.” She added, “It is clear we cannot create a one size fits all solution, but by joining forces with leaders and organisations with expertise in this area, we hope to change mindsets and make lasting change for women and girls in our sport.”
