IOC on course for Paris 2024 coach gender equality goal

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is closing in on its goal to increase representation and equity for female coaches prior to the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games with “notable strides” made to its Women in Sport high-performance (WISH) pathway programme.

The initiative is being supported by $1 million from the Olympic Solidarity fund.

Paris 2024 is set to feature a higher percentage of female athletes than in previous editions of the Games and as such the IOC is seeking to increase the number of female coaches.

At Tokyo 2020, there were just 13 per cent of female coaches compared to the 48 per cent of female athletes.

WISH is aiming to help 100 women become elite-level coaches by 2024, and will have four groups participating within the current Olympic cycle with each running on a 21-month time period.

“The programme is designed to help female coaches develop their leadership skills, confidence and careers,” read in IOC statement.

“Coaches benefit from one-to-one leadership mentoring plus ongoing support from a sport-specific mentor.

“Such expert advice and feedback on real-life challenges can be invaluable to any coach, let alone a woman striving to perform at the top of her game in a male-dominated environment.”

At the moment, there are almost 100 coaches in the programme from 17 sports and 53 countries.

World Athletics has been firmly involved with the scheme and has eight coaches put forward from eight different member associations.

“One of the pledges, which was reiterated during this year’s International Women’s Day, states: ‘Increase the number of female coaches at our World Championships to at least 20 per cent by the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 by encouraging member federations to send more female coaches, and provide the learning pathway in countries where women are underrepresented at the coaching level’,” read a statement from the governing body. –Insidethegames.biz