An ambitious roadmap for equality and diversity in sport in Europe for the EWS
On May 11th, the Equality Within Sport (EWS) committee of ENGSO met in Hersonissos, Crete, Greece to talk about the implementation of its 2023 Work Plan.
Aligned with the newly adopted ENGSO Strategy and Policy Programme, EWS pursues its vision and mission up to 2027, by coordinating efforts in Europe to advocate and reach gender equality in grassroots sport.
During this meeting, the EWS committee members evaluated the implementation of their 2023 roadmap, with the ambition to reach specific EWS objectives:
- Continuing the advocacy on gender equality in sport in Europe, with the adoption of a Position Paper on Gender Equality by the ENGSO General Assembly on May 13.
- Building the capacity of ENGSO members and their networks, and providing platforms for knowledge sharing on gender equality through the organisation of workshops and/or online seminars. The next series of online seminars will support ENGSO members in building or strengthening their national policy for gender equality by sharing the experiences and learnings from several sport organisations.
- Engaging the European network of sport managers, representatives and those passionate about gender equality, diversity and women in European sport.
- Raising awareness on gender equality through impactful and inclusive communication. In the coming months, the #StandUp4Equality campaign will promote European role models for women with disabilities and from the LGBTQI+ community in sport plus male allies.
- Conducting a study on the experiences of LBTQI+ women in sport, bearing in mind intersectionality and duplication of discrimination (gender, age). Data will be collected during the European Youth and Sport Platform (Sweden, 1-4 June) and other European sports events during the summer. Results should be available in the fall.
Promoting the participation of people with disabilities in grassroots sports, especially women and minorities, by evaluating existing national strategies and accessible data in order to monitor these strategies and by providing a platform of knowledge and exchange for grassroots sport organisations on this topic.
The EWS committee is composed of motivated individuals appointed by the ENGSO members, as well as co-opted experts.
From left to right. Front row: Sarah Townsend (EGLSF), Floriane Poncet-Rief (ENGSO Project and Equality Officer), Jen Browning (Sport and Recreation Alliance, UK Sport). Back row: Rejhan Halili (NOC Kosovo), Anabela Sousa Vaz dos Reis (Portuguese Sport Confederation), Sofie Korbee (ENGSO Youth), Tarja Krum (NOC Finland) and Sallie Barker, EWS Chair.
Follow the work of the EWS Committee on the ENGSO Education website. Among the highlights of the last 5 months, the EWS committee:
- Successfully organised 2 online seminars: “European Women in Sport – past, present and future” on International Women’s Day (March 8th), and “LGBTQI+ community: participation and experiences in sport” (February 23)
- Developed training on diversity and inclusion, tested by the ENGSO and ENGSO Youth staff (24-27 February 2023), touching upon social structures and privileges, with the objective of developing a more welcoming, inclusive and diverse environment.
- Continued the #StandUp4Equality communication campaign by sharing good practices that makes a difference for LGBTQI+ participation and representation in sport.
- Launched research on LBTQI+ women in sport.
