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Fit for Life: empowerment of women and girls in and through sport

Women are less represented in sport leadership positions, less remunerated at the professional level and participate less in sport, physical education, and physical activity globally. To respond to these issues, UNESCO’s Social and Human Sciences sector and partners have committed to develop a Fit for Life Sport and Gender Equality Game Plan, a collective action plan to support the empowerment of women and girls and to increase their participation in sport as a top priority.

UNESCO gathered 70 experts from the public, private and civil society sectors on 21 November 2022 to discuss the development of a Sport and Gender Equality Game Plan. The multi-stakeholder event was a major milestone on the road to UNESCO’s 7th Sports Ministers Conference (MINEPS VII) to be held from 26-29 June 2023.

21 December 2022

Last update: 1 February 2023

Gender gaps in the sports world in terms of women’s and girl’s participation, rewards for performance, media coverage and sponsorship, reveal persistent challenges connected to gender inequality. This is particularly damaging considering that sport can be a tool for women’s empowerment, self-confidence and independence! Let’s create a fair (sports) world for women and girls! Let’s just make it happen!

Gabriela Ramos Assistant-Director General for Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO

Participants co-designed key content for the Sport and Gender Equality Game Plan. It was agreed that the Game Plan should be a practical toolkit to support national stakeholders implement pre-existing commitments and drive equality outcomes in and through sport. Leading factors contributing to the marginalization of women and girls in sports were identified as follows:

Lack of a collective action plan to support gender empowerment;
Gender bias in the sports system;
Lack of resources and time.

The Global Observatory for Gender Equality & Sport synthesized the outcomes of the breakout groups which emphasized the need to:

Include young girls and co-create with women at all stages of the projects;
Use an intersectional lens and evidence-based content;
Harness the power of technology to connect communities and disseminate information.

Toolkit content, checklists and resources will support the development of gender-responsive policy, advocacy and the scaling of good practice projects.

In recognition of her efforts to advance equality in sport, Benny Bonsu was designated as the first Fit for Life Sport and Gender Equality Advocate by Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO.

I’m excited to meet young girls and tell them about the conversations here (at UNESCO Headquarters) so that they are aware that people care, and things are being put in place for their development.

Benny Bonsu

Key highlights:

Panelists from IWG, Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, Paris Basket 18 and WomenWin shared insights on good practices and the essentials of outcome-oriented projects.
The common theory of change for gender equality and sport, presented by UNESCO and inFocus, received positive feedback from the participants.
Inspirational video messages from Afghan ultra-marathon runner and athlete, Nelofor Sorosh, and the President of the Norwegian Football Association, Lise Klaveness energized the room.
To support a collective and joined up approach, the event engaged leaders from Agence Française de Dévelopment, Atletas Pelo Brasil, Commonwealth Secretariat, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, Futebol dá força, Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, Nike, Olympic Council of Asia, Paris Basket 18, Rafa Nadal Foundation, The International Olympic Committee, The International Working Group (IWG) on Women & Sport, UNHCR, and WomenWin.
Government representatives from Bahrain, Canada, China, Finland, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and Zimbabwe were active throughout the day.

Stay tuned for next steps regarding the development of the Sport and Gender Equality Game plan and the elaboration of a cutting-edge study on the contributions sport can make to women and girls achieving their full potential on and off the pitch.