ENGSO promotes gender equality in sport in the aftermath of Paris 2024 Games

On April 3rd, 2025, ENGSO Project and Equality Officer, Floriane Poncet-Rief represented ENGSO on a panel discussion on gender equality in sports, invited by the association Le Cercle and hosted at the French Embassy in Vienna, Austria.

French embassy le cercle gender equality

Photo: La cercle

The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games were a showcase for trying to achieve gender parity with an increase in the number of female athletes, new mixed events and increased media coverage of women’s competitions. However, despite significant progress, deeply-rooted gender inequalities persist in sports: pay gaps, media coverage, representation on governing bodies and participation at grassroots level. 


The French-speaking association Le Cercle organised a public discussion to explore recent developments and remaining obstacles for gender equality in sports. ENGSO EWS was present at the event at the French Embassy in Vienna, Austria.

Key figures on women in sports:

 

Participation:

 

  • Women and girls represent 31% of all sports federation members (Council of Europe, 2025)
  • Girls are more likely to drop out of sports participation as they transition into adulthood: 39% of girls stop sport in adolescence, compared with only 6% of boys
  • Women with disabilities, older women, transgender women, and migrant women tend to participate less in physical activity or sports (ENGSO EWS, 2023). 
  • Approximately 1 out of 5 women face situations of harassment or discrimination while engaging in sports over the past 12 months.
 

Leadership:

  • Less than 29% of executive positions in international federations are held by women (SIGA, 2024)
  • Out of 206 National Olympics Committees, 24 are presided over by women (less than 12%) 

 

Media coverage:

  • Worldwide media coverage of women’s sport is 4%
  • 12% of sports news are presented by women
  • 90% of people cite a man when asked to name a sports personality who inspires them (survey from Sport Heroes and the Alice Milliat Foundation)

 

Development of women’s elite sport:

  • In 2024, global annual revenues from women’s top-level sport broke the billion-dollar barrier for the first time
  • Media visibility of women’s sport has seen a spectacular rise since 2019: it has gone from 5% to 16% of airtime (UN Women)
  • Female athletes dominate the digital space. In 2024, they accounted for 61% of all views on TikTok among the world’s 50 most marketable athletes, according to SportsPro’s list

The event

 

After an opening address by H.E. Matthieu Peyraud, Ambassador of France to Austria, and opening remarks by Dr. Rosa Diketmüller, Professor at the Institute of Sport and Movement Sciences of the University of Vienna and President of 100% Sport, four experts took part in the panel discussion.

  • Petra Huber, Secretary General of the Austrian Paralympic Committee
  • Floriane Poncet-Rief, Project and Equality Officer, ENGSO 
  • Lucie Forté, Sociologist, specialized in the study of high-level sports careers, lecturer at the Sport University of Toulouse and Project Manager at CREPS Toulouse
  • Tanja Frank, former Olympic sailor from Austria

The discussion was moderated by Claudia Koller, Managing Director of 100% Sport.