The International Olympic Committee describes gender equality in sport in this manner.: “Sport is one of the most powerful platforms for promoting gender equality and empowering women and girls. As the leader of the Olympic Movement, the IOC is taking continuous action to advance gender equality.
“Great progress has been made in terms of balancing the total number of athletes participating at the Games; however, many other challenges and gaps remain. The IOC is working to address these inequalities through leadership development, advocacy and awareness campaigns, and appointing more women to leadership roles within the administration and key governance positions.
“Together with many Olympic Movement stakeholders, the IOC has implemented significant gender equality initiatives so that girls and women around the world are being given greater access and opportunities to participate in sport.”
In the spirit of the recently concluded 2020 Olympics, in spite of the Lankans not winning any medals, Gender Balance which is one of the main focal points ended up as a clear winner. In the Lankan contingent of nine athletes five were females while there were only four males.
With this in mind the NOC of Sri Lanka exchanged ideas with its women’s committee chairperson Niloo Jayatilake to air her views on the matter.
Q. Sport wise Sri Lanka is a fledgling nation with only two Olympic medals in the history so far. Fortunately, even the two medals we have won have been shared -- one man and one woman; in short globally our performances have not been so impressive with over 95 percent athletes representing the country on wildcard. So, there may be instances where gender balancing of the team would be difficult without being partial to either party. Yet, in Sri Lanka inequality in gender balance is prevalent to a great extent. How are we to overcome that situation?
A. Equality in sport means breaking down the harmful stereotypes that continue to make women less likely to take up sporting activities. It also entails promoting women’s advancement as professional athletes and leaders in the sport sector.
Traditionally, sport has been dominated by men, both in terms of participation and governance. Gender inequalities are evident across the sports sector, from representation at decision-making levels and media coverage, to participation in sports activities including coaching. Women may also face a general lack of safe and appropriate sports facilities, potentially exposing them to physical and verbal sexual harassment and assault. They may also experience additional physical constraints, lack of time and lack of childcare facilities.
Led by UN Women, the Sport for Generation Equality initiative was developed for the sports ecosystem to be part of a powerful multi-stakeholder coalition to make gender equality a lived reality in and through sport.
However, substantial progress has been made on gender equality and, thanks to the IOC’s ongoing efforts, the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will be a turning point. With 49 per cent female participation, Tokyo 2020 will be the first gender-equal Olympic Games ever. For the first time, there will be at least one female and one male athlete in each of the teams participating in the Games. Gender equality will also be at the forefront at the Opening Ceremony, as all National Olympic Committees (NOCs) are encouraged to have one male and one female athlete jointly carry their flag. Tokyo’s competition schedule will also see double the number of mixed events compared to Rio 2016. Paris 2024 will see for the first time in Olympic history the participation of the exact same number of female athletes as male athletes.
Q. Should it be done on a long-term basis with a lot of research and planning?
A. Gender equality in sports cannot be achieved overnight. It will be a slow and painful journey especially given the cultural prejudices that exist in our society. In addition, it needs the support of the community as well as all the stakeholders involved in sport.
Some of the key requirements are supporting women’s and girls’ sports, developing gender equity policies, Avoiding sexist language in communications, establishing a whistle blower programme to capture discrimination and harassment, and having more female sports executives in sports governing bodies. In addition, sports coverage is hugely powerful in shaping norms and stereotypes about gender.
Media has the ability to change these norms, promoting a balanced coverage of men’s and women’s sports and a fair portrayal of sportspeople – irrespective of gender. Gender marking is a common issue women face in the sports media, and this term represents the verbal and visual presentation of male athletes and men’s sports as being the norm, while rendering female athletes and women’s competitions as secondary
Q. What are the shortfalls in the existing system?
A. Education and awareness remain the key factors to help create gender equality. This must be inculcated in our youth from school going ages and thus the national education system has a large role to play in this process. Equal opportunity should be provided for participation in sports.
Girls should feel safe and participation must become culturally acceptable. Studies on gender inequality in the Sri Lankan school system have shown there are fewer chances for girls to participate in sports and that boys participate in track and field events while girls largely participate in organized games and indoor games.
Sports programmes that have proven most effective world over so far in promoting gender equity are those that are well-integrated into the community In this context, the landmark policy document on sexual harassment and the “Safe Sports” campaign rolled out by the NOCSL in 2020 was a huge first step in protecting all athletes and was ratified by all the sports federations In Sri Lanka.
The campaign itself was hugely successful and it was wonderful to see all stakeholders of sports, the media and the community embracing and supporting the project with great enthusiasm. Similar education and awareness policies encompassing gender balance need to be introduced in the future into our education system and sporting structures.
Q. How are we going to make it a qualitative project that would get engraved into the system and get the Associations and Federations adopt them as a matter of priority?
A. Our medal tally and participation in the Olympic Games to date has possibly less to do with gender inequality but rather to a lack of proper resources.
With the exception of cricket, our country remains unable to allocate the necessary funding and resources towards sports development to allow our athletes to compete on a level playing field with successful Olympians. Most medal winning nations have large budgets for developing the infrastructure necessary to develop elite athletes. These include continuous development of coaches, building sports fields, sponsorships of athletes and mentorships, scientifically designing individual nutrition plans and even sports psychology programmes.
Our athletes also need more exposure to international events and our elite high-performance athletes will definitely benefit from training stints in international coaching centres of excellence.
In conclusion however, it is indeed wonderful to see five females representing Sri Lanka out of a total contingent of nine athletes at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. It is heartening to see our females in spite of many obstacles having reached the very pinnacle of athletic competition and looking forward they would be role models to lead our sports into the future.