The first #GenderEqualOlympics. That’s what the organizers of Paris 2024 called the recent Games – but how “equal” was the global sporting spectacle?
There should be gender parity in terms of participation, with the same number of “quota places” for female and male athletes. In reality, there were more male than female athletes (5,630 vs. 5,416), more men's teams participated in the football and water polo events (16-12 and 12-10 respectively), and there were more men's events than women's events (157 vs. 152). In any case, most countries selected a female and male athlete to be flag bearersan initiative that was introduced in Tokyo.
The lack of female coaches was also telling. We may be moving towards 50:50 in terms of athletes, but men still dominate on the sidelines. In Paris, around one in 10 coaches were women, not much different from Tokyo three years ago, when women made up just 13 percent of all coaches.
Then you have cameramen at the Games who are told not to portray female competitors in a sexist manner. That organizers felt the need to give this instruction tells its own story about the way female athletes have been portrayed historically—and that hasn’t changed.
It’s clear that the Olympics aren’t truly equal yet. In fact, the most important step towards sporting equality in Paris in recent weeks has been taken outside the venues. Michele Kang, owner of three women’s football clubs – London City Lionesses, Lyon and Washington Spirit, has pledged $50m (£39m) to fund research into the health and performance of female athletes as she launches the Kynisca Innovation Hub. With only six per cent of sports science research focused on women, it could be a game-changer worldwide.
How can the 2028 Olympics bring true equality to Los Angeles?
Level playing field – and pool
Four more football teams means 72 more male players than female in Paris. Increasing the number of women’s football and water polo teams poses financial and logistical challenges, but the recent Games proved the huge demand for women’s sports, with record crowds for rugby, basketball and handball. Or if it’s deemed too expensive, reduce the number of men’s teams. There should be an equal number of men’s and women’s teams in these events by the time the flame is lit in LA.
Establish clear policies
Despite all the incredible achievements in Paris, there was one story that stood out: the gender conflict in boxing. The inclusion of Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting in the women's category after they failed the International Boxing Association's gender eligibility tests last year sparked outrage. Two athletes who were listed as women found themselves at the center of a toxic debate, with Donald Trump, JK Rowling and Elon Musk do their part to discuss very personal information and question their existence, while opponents said they feared for their lives and carried out XX protests to refer to female chromosomes.
This situation could have been avoided if the International Olympic Committee had set clear policies. Instead, it has continued to abdicate responsibility and decided in November 2021 that it was up to individual sports to determine whether transgender and DSD (differences in sexual development) athletes would be allowed to compete.