2002 World Conference on Women and Sport

THE WINDHOEK CALL FOR ACTION

Progress and Lessons Learned

4.	Build the capacity of women as leaders and decision-makers and ensure that women play meaningful and visible roles in sport at all levels. Create mechanisms that ensure that young women have a voice in the development of policies and programs that affect them.

The importance of women's leadership in sport is another area where the message is certainly getting across. The IOC's initiative in setting targets for all NOCs and IFs has had an impact in all parts of the world. As a result, there are more women in visible leadership roles in these organisations, although there is still a long way to go to reach anything approaching equality. Positive steps are being made to support and help build the capacity of women recently elected to new leadership positions through the IOC's programs of regional seminars and national training opportunities.

Progress Made / Success Stories

International Olympic Committee (IOC)
Katia Mascagni, Chief, Section for Women's Advancement, Department of International Cooperation, International Olympic Committee

In 1996, the IOC set a target that urged all National Olympic Committees, International Federations, National Federations and other sport organisations of the Olympic Movement to work to ensure that, by 31 December 2000, at least 10% of all the offices in all their decision making structures (in particular all legislative or executive agencies) be held by women, and that such a percentage reach at least 20% by 31 December 2005.

The IOC is aware of the fact that such a goal can only be reached progressively, and that successive stages must be set to this effect. Many NOCs and IFs have responded positively and are co-operating with the IOC in this regard.

Women's representation in the IOC *
Since 1981, when, under the leadership of President Samaranch, the first two women were co-opted as IOC members, several other women have joined the IOC. Similarly, IOC Commissions and Working groups have included more women than before, enabling their direct contribution to all issues and policies that the IOC is working on. Moreover, for the first time in the history of the Olympic Movement, a woman, Anita DeFrantz, became IOC Vice-President in 1997.

IOC's Executive Board

INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE

January 2002	Women	Men	Total	%
Executive Board IOC members - Session Commissions	1 11 35	14 110 271	15 121 306	6.6 9 11.4

*IOC information and statistics are taken from the IOC publication: The Promotion of Women in the Olympic Movement, prepared by the Department of International Cooperation, January 2002.

Women's Representation in NOCs
Based on the information provided by 157 NOCs (as of 1 January 2002):

105 NOCs (66.8%) have met the 10% target
138 NOCs (87.9%) have at least one woman on their executive board
Among these 138 NOCs, 39 have more than 20% women on their board.

Women's Representation in IFs and Recognised IFs
Based on the information provided by the 35 IFs (as of 1 January 2002):

15 Olympic IFs (42.8%) have met the 10% target
27 Olympic IFs (77.1%) have at least one woman on their Executive Board
Among these 27 IFs, 8 Federations have more than 20% women on their Board.

Based on the information provided by 28 out of 30 Recognised IFs (as of 1 January 2002):

10 Recognised IFs (35.7%) have met the 10% target
20 Recognised IFs (71.4%) have at least one woman on their Executive Board
Among these 20 federations, 5 Recognised IFs have more than 20% women on their Board.

IOC Olympic Solidarity Assistance Programs

Through the special program for "Women and Sport", the IOC has been able to support NOCs for national seminars, workshops, research and other related events on this subject, and finance the attendance of NOC delegates to IOC regional seminars and world conferences on women and sport. This program is administered in co-operation with Olympic Solidarity. From 1997 to 2000, over 147 NOCs have benefited from this program, and many NOCs have succeeded in starting their own women & sport policy. Women's Commission's within National Olympic Committees have also received financial support for their special activities.

With respect to Regional Seminars and World Conferences:

Seven regional seminars, covering 129 NOCs on the five continents, have been organised for women involved in sport
Two World Conferences on women and sport were organised in 1996 and 2000 with the participation of delegates from around the world
The recommendations adopted during these seminars and conferences had positive outcomes for the NOCs and the Ifs, and helped them outline and further develop their activities for the promotion of women in sport.

Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF)
Judy Kent, CGF Sports Committee

The increase in women leaders in Commonwealth Games Associations and NOCs is mainly due to the setting of IOC targets. The CGF has supported this development by providing tools and support to the CGAs, including attendance at IOC Regional Leadership sessions and bi-yearly information from the Women in Sport Committee.

Lessons Learned
IOC Targets have been a major incentive at the national level. It is very difficult for men to understand they are not being replaced - giving up their status and authority, if they support the gender equity initiatives.

Conférence des Ministres de la Jeunesse et des Sports des Pays d'Expression Française (CONFEJES)

Development program for female coaches in connection with the Games of La Francophonie 2001

Objectives:

Offer coaches the opportunity to receive advanced training and acquire relevant major Games experience by taking part in the Games of La Francophonie (GOLF) 2001
Encourage a larger number of Francophone female coaches who will be able to act as coaches of national teams during major Games
Promote the creation of a communication network among the program participants
Establish the basis of a single system for promoting women in the field of coaching within the international Francophone community
Constitute a legacy of the GOLF for the integration of Francophone women in the field of sport at the international level and in major Games.

Target and countries concerned:
Seven trainee coaches from developing countries (Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Lebanon, Madagascar, Mauritius and two from Cameroon) and 4 mentor coaches from Canada took part.

Activities:

Pre-Games seminar (Held in Ottawa, Canada from May 25 to 27, 2001).
A co-ordinator and five facilitators presented material from the leadership seminar in the form of workshops developed in co-operation with the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS). The workshops were an opportunity to identify issues in the various countries, share experiences and knowledge, and develop strategies and possible solutions.
Participation by trainee coaches and supervision by mentor coaches at the 2001 Games of La Francophonie (Ottawa-Hull, July 12-24, 2001). The participation in the 2001 Games of La Francophonie allowed the trainee coaches to make direct contact with the athletes and coaches of their national team, to develop their coaching techniques and put into practice the knowledge acquired and lessons learned at the pre-Games seminar.
Post-Games seminar (July 25-29, 2001). The post-Games seminar was held during the conference of coaches of La Francophonie in Montreal. In addition to participating in the technical training offered by the sport federations, the coaches had a chance to learn more by attending various theoretical workshops.
The discussions and the bonds created among the participants of this program made it possible to create an international network of coaches.
Creation of an association for women and sport in the Côte d'Ivoire by that country's participant.

Canada
Cyndie Flett, Manager, Women in Coaching Program, Coaching Association of Canada

The Women in Coaching program is a national campaign aimed at increasing the number of coaching opportunities for women at all levels of sport. Since 1987, over 400 women coaches have received some $2,000,000 in the form of professional development grants, major Games apprenticeship grants, Best Practices Grants and National Coaching Institute scholarships.

An additional aspect of the campaign is the development of resources to increase the awareness of women coaches at the international and professional levels, in order to provide role models for aspiring coaches. The latest addition to these resources is the Canadian Journal for Women in Coaching (see below).

Canadian Journal for Women in Coaching
In recent years, as the participation of girls and women in sport in Canada has skyrocketed, barriers have tumbled and opportunities have begun to proliferate. Coaching has also been impacted by this explosion, yet women who choose to coach nonetheless continue to face serious challenges, generally as a result of programs that, when designed, did not consider their unique needs. Other barriers include a lack of mentoring, the failure of sport organisations to spotlight female role models, mis-communication and a lack of access to information that is critical to professional success.

To address these challenges, the Women in Coaching program of the Coaching Association of Canada introduced The Canadian Journal for Women in Coaching. The premise of the Journal is that timely, accurate, targeted information will go a long way towards creating a healthier and more positive environment for women coaches, in Canada and around the world. During the research phase, a worldwide search turned up little information specific to the situation of the woman coach.

One of her dominant concerns is family life. Whether in a relationship or single, women coaches with children report debilitating struggles to balance the demands of coaching with their family responsibilities. Other pressing issues focus on negotiating equitable compensation and satisfactory contracts, breaking into the high performance echelon, establishing personal behaviour guidelines, understanding employee and employer rights and working effectively with a board of directors.

As well as tackling pertinent issues, the Journal goes one step further by providing practical, hands-on and proactive suggestions and solutions to inform the coaches, their employers, the parents of their athletes, their clubs and associations. Topics addressed in the Journal include: being professional about your employment; being a coach and raising a family; getting what you need to succeed as a coach; developing the next generation of women coaches; coaching men and coaching women; feminism in sport; equitable pay for women coaches; understanding Canada's sport system; and what the future holds for women coaches. Above all, the Journal is designed to make sure that readers will develop an understanding of the unique challenges faced by women coaches. The Journal is available on the Internet at: www.coach.ca/women/e/journal/index.htm

Australia
Debbie Simms, Manager - Ethics & Women, Australian Sports Commission

Mentor as Anything! The ASC implemented a three-year research project to look at the issue of the under-representation of women in key decision-making and leadership roles. The result of the Management & Leadership Project was the development and implementation of a mentor program for women in sport, the Mentor as Anything! Program, which includes:

A Mentor as Anything! booklet that outlines both the action required by organisations that want to set up a mentor program, and tasks for individuals who want to establish their own mentoring relationship
Training course for facilitators of mentor programs (people who facilitate the relationships)
Train-the-trainer course (a person has been trained in each state to train facilitators as required).

Mentor programs for women in sport are being implemented in every state in different ways. For example, some mentor programs target Indigenous women or newly arrived immigrant women, some target female coaches or final year sport students, while other programs involve women from across a range of roles, ranging from administration through to sports journalism.

Women as coaches. The ASC (through the Sport Education Section) provides a range of services to build the capacity of women as coaches, including scholarships for female coaches; mentoring program for coaches, particularly female coaches; working with individual sports on a needs basis to implement strategies to increase female coaches; conducting research on issues around women in coaching; and developing resources such as the brochure, Women, Coaches and Officials - How to recruit and retain women in coaching and officiating.

Many State Departments of Sport and Recreation conduct courses and seminars, offer scholarships and hold networking functions for women to build skills, confidence and capacity in a range of roles in sport.

In addition, the ASC and State Departments also try to ensure that women are represented as both speakers/experts and participants in any seminars, conferences or courses they conduct, and as consultants in working groups that are established to look at issues in sport.

Lessons Learned

It is not enough to advertise or promote the availability of scholarships, workshops and courses for women and hope that many women will turn up. You need to, wherever possible, personally invite women to attend. We have found, and research indicates, that women frequently do not have the confidence (in their experience, technical and/or personal skills) to attend courses or apply for scholarships; don't think that it has relevance or applies to them; have only fleetingly looked at the information and not given it any consideration; and so on. When women are personally asked to attend, given more information and had their questions or concerns answered, more women attend.

We also found you have to be constantly diligent and proactive in ensuring women have representation as speakers and participants at conferences. We have found that compiling a list of women who have expertise in various fields (finance, marketing, communications, media, law, etc) from several different states is very useful as a way of nominating women for sport and other relevant boards and committees.

USA Women's Sport Foundation
Yolanda L. Jackson, International Liaison, Women's Sports Foundation, USA

Since 1982, the USA Women's Sport Foundation has provided invaluable apprentice experience for close to 400 interns. In 1999, the Foundation received over 100,000 requests for information via the Information Referral Service (a free public telephone service). Interns can request to work any one of the Foundation's seven departments, and many Foundation interns have gone on to find employment in the country's leading colleges and universities as coaches, instructors and trainers, as well as at major sports management companies, leading corporations specializing in sports marketing and sports print and broadcast media.
Additionally, the Foundation presents an annual Sports Summit conference where leaders in women's sports gather to attend and participate in four days of panels, workshops and activities focused on national and international issues and concerns of girls and women in sports. Throughout the Summit, the outstanding achievements of student athletes, coaches, researchers and Foundation supporters are acknowledged in several award ceremonies.

Finland
Nelli Heinonen, Manager, Gender Equality, Finnish Sports Federation.

The Finnish Sports Federation (SLU) organised mentoring programs for women in Finnish sports organisations during 1995-2000. During the five years, 53 women took part in the mentoring programs. SLU organised these programs with the help of International Women's Management Institute Finland Oy (WOM). The role of WOM was to choose the mentors and actors, match the pairs, help the participants orientate to the subject and train the mentors.
Each mentoring program started with a preparatory meeting where the participants specified their own needs. Later, in a start-up meeting the mentors, the actors were introduced to mentoring in general, defined their objectives for mentoring and composed a plan for the program. Between monthly meetings of the pairs there were workshops for mentors and actors, in which the participants shared their experiences and evaluated the progress of their own development. The mentoring program ended with a closing seminar where the participants compared the objectives they had with the effects of the program. Both groups were experienced very positive results from the program.

Singapore
Tan Ching Hui & Juliana Kang, Singapore Sports Council

The Women and Sport Working Group (WSWG) organised a Women Sports Leader Workshop with overseas speakers to better prepare women already serving in National Sports Associations, the WSWG and the Ministry of Education for leadership positions. The WSWG works closely with the Singapore Sports Council to encourage National Sports Association to include more women in their executive committees, and has in a number of cases successfully recommended women from the WSWG, for example with the Football Association of Singapore and Singapore Sailing.

In addition, the High Performance Committee is made up of women who have been involved in sports as athletes or administrators. These women serve as good role models and encourage younger and potential female leaders to contribute to sports.

Lessons Learned
Changing mindsets is not easy. However, increasing awareness of the positive contribution that women administrators and technical officers can make and serving as positive role models can be quite effective.

Holding just one workshop will not change the 'culture' and the need for continuity cannot be ignored. Organising events and keeping the athletes informed and in touch is important.

France - National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF)
Dominique Petit, Responsible for Women and Sport, CNOSF & Nicole Dechavanne, President, Femix'sports

The CNOSF is committed to increasing opportunities for women in the national sport system. Below are several general and specific initiatives underway.

General Solutions:

To acknowledge a status of sport manager - to find compensations for the personal commitment of the manager
To train young people - to introduce into the sport diplomas and degree courses some content regarding the organisation of sport and the take-over of responsibilities
To rethink the equipment - to conceive sport structures adapted to both sexes for the athletes and the training staff.

Specific Solutions:

To modify the status of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee to hold 5 seats (10%) for women in the next constitution of the Board of Directors
To create an observatory of the presence of women in all of the different structures of the sport movement, and to carry out a census of the progression of women's involvement
To create a documentary source to gather and update all of the information regarding the participation of women in sport.

The National Olympic and Sport Committee (CNOSF) also fosters a stronger network between women leaders. In February 2001, 100 people met, and the creation of a formal national network is in progress. There has been minor progress in the management of sport, with three women attaining presidency at the federation level. Technical and coaching training is also being addressed.

France - Ministry of Youth and Sport (MJS)
Michèle Toussaint, Responsible for Women and Sport, Office of International Relations, Ministry of Youth and Sport

Women and Sport issues will be dealt with in the initial training for sports professors and adult education and youth counsellors. The current training on careers, trades and different positions of authority within the MJS will be strengthened in 2002, by adding training activities on the specific problems relating to the role of women within the MJS and on career- and skills-development for women.

In terms of professional practices, issues related to Women and Sport will be explicitly identified and dealt with in a number of training activities including the following areas: coaching methodology, management training methodology, analysis of training practices, project management, and legal approaches to professional practices.

The specifics of coaching female athletes, managerial conditions of female high-performance athletes, and the coaching situation of female high-performance athletes are all areas covered in the 2002 training for sports professors acting as national technical managers for coaching missions to national teams or high-performance sports teams.

Employee Professional Development
For the first time, training assignments on Women and Sport will appear in the 2002 national training plan. Four complementary training assignments geared to specific audiences will be developed by the "Women and Sport" team.

"Carrying out responsibilities within the MJS": open to female sports professors, adult education and youth counsellors and inspectors with up to five years of experience.
"Effective professional development": aimed at female sports professors with experience in management.
"From speaking up to access to responsibilities": geared to female sports professor trainers and regional and departmental correspondents not enrolled in the training program and not in a position of responsibility.
"Speaking up and timetable for access to responsibilities": aimed at male and female sports professors and may serve as the second level of the third training assignment or "Women and Sport" training initiatives and is geared to employees who have already completed a training assignment in communications.

USA - Girl Scouts
Verna Simpkins, Director, Membership & Program Initiatives, Girl Scouts USA

GSUSA offers leadership institutes for up to 25 girls, ages 14-17. These three to five day events provide an opportunity for girls to develop their leadership skills in a variety of fields, and support the council's leadership pool by providing leadership training to teens. Over the past several years, a number of leadership institutes focused on sports and sports careers, and workshops on topics such as Title IX, leadership, sports psychology, sports careers, diversity issues in sports and competition have been offered. Each participant commits to "taking the training home" by developing a sports and fitness project that she will then implement in her town or community.

Lessons Learned

Girls are often an untapped pool of leaders that can be utilised to deliver Girl Scouting within their communities. Girls are often eager to take on adult roles.