Gender Equity is Good Governance – Lessons from the Sport Sector

The gender makeup of sport, and sport leadership, is changing. In 2018, the Government of Canada made it clear that gender equity is a priority for all levels of sport, setting a target to achieve gender equality by 2035. In February, as part of the Red Deer Declaration, the federal, provincial and territorial Ministers responsible…

Budget 2019

The Federal Government’s Budget 2019 announced $30 million over five years, and $6 million per year ongoing, to enable Canada’s national sport organizations to promote accessible, ethical, equitable and safe sport.

Women in Sport Leadership 2019

Gender Equity is key to achieving a world class sport system – research shows that organizations with the most gender diversity outperform those with the least. Research conducted by the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) shows that the overall number of women on boards is trending up,…

IWD 2019

In celebration of International Women’s Day, CAAWS released its new Women in Sport Leadership Snapshot. The evidence is clear – organizations with gender diverse boards are more effective. Within sport, 47% of national sport organizations (NSOs) and multisport service organizations (MSOs) have a documented commitment to a gender equitable board, yet 93% indicated intentions to…

Balance for Better: Gender Equity in Sport Leadership Benefits Everyone

International Women’s Day is an opportunity to reflect on the progress that has been towards gender equity in sport leadership, but also to remind the sport sector that we still have work to do to ensure that women’s voices and opinions are equally valued and represented. This year’s international theme for March 8 is #BalanceforBetter…

Gender Equality at Beijing 2022

In January 2019, the International Paralympic Committee announced the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games medal programme, which features an equal number of medal events for female and male athletes. This could be the first Paralympic Winter Games to have gender parity in regards to medal events.

FTPSC WG Women Sport Recommendations

This week a recommendation report from the Federal-Provincial/Territorial (F-P/T) Sport Committee’s Work Group on Women and Girls in Sport was released, aimed at increasing the participation and leadership of women and girls in all aspects of sport. The report outlines an ultimate vision for women and girls in sport, details strategic outcomes that must be…

Women Leaders – Americas Paralympic Region

This weekend, current and future women leaders from across the America’s gathered in Ottawa. The three-day event was the start of an eight-month project to increase and enhance the participation and representation of women in leadership roles in the Americas Paralympic Region, hosted by the National Paralympic Committees of Canada and Peru with support from…

IWG Report GBV

In Canada, addressing harassment, abuse and discrimination in sport is a growing priority. However, this may not be the case in other countries. A study commissioned by the International Working Group on Women and Sport revealed that 37% of signatories to the Brighton Declaration on Women and Sport had not taken any action to address…

The Role of Sport Administrators in Advancing Women in Coaching through Mentorship

The rise of girls’ and women’s participation in physical activity and sport, including at the high performance sport level in Canada, has been encouraging. Unfortunately, this increase in participation rates of females has not been matched by an increase in females in coaching positions. In 2015, the Government of Canada cited that only 25% of…