Over the last decade, women’s involvement in the sports sector has grown exponentially, but numbers point out that, in Europe, this sector still experiences no gender balance. The gender gap manifests its seriousness notably in two different directions, among others:
1. The sedentary lifestyle of female children and adolescents
Standing to the WHO Guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour
for children and adolescents, adults and older adults of March 2020, “current global estimates of physical inactivity indicate that 27.5% of adults and 81% of adolescents do not meet the existing WHO recommendations on physical activity for health” with “significant differences in the patterns of inactivity across genders”. This happens mostly among girls.
2. The lack of women in leadership positions, in particular in event management
After the pandemic, the demand for women-only events has risen clearly, but sport event management is a sector still dominated by male top-level positions.
To fight against these two specific social issues, the one-day event “Women in European Sport: Participation. Empowerment. Leadership” will take place in Brussels on the 26th of June at the Centre Sportif de la Forêt de Soignes. The event is dedicated to women’s involvement in the sports sector and the opportunities of the field for equal gender participation, within the framework of twoErasmus+ projects co-funded by EU: “WISE – Women’s Involvement in Steady Exercise” and “EWSE – Empowering Women for Sports Events in Europe”.
The goals of WISE and EWSE are to close the gender gap in sports and physical activity participation in young women, prevent dropouts, increase equality in sport leadership and representation of women’s sports as a force for social change. At the same time, the EWSE project is creating a European network of women’s sports events and festivals in Europe to enhance their positive social, economic and cultural impacts on women in sports.
Both projects recognise the importance of promoting gender equality in sports, not only for women’s rights but also for society as a whole. Women in European Sport aims at presenting opportunities in which women can benefit from the results of these two projects, as well as experience different sports activities.
The organiser of the event is EPSI (European Platform for Sport Innovation). It sees the involvement of the other projects’ partners from all across Europe (ASSIST Italy, Alice Milliat Association, Vienna Institute for International Dialogue and Cooperation, Irish Wheelchair Association, University “Union – Nikola Tesla”, Faculty of Sport, European Culture and Sport Organization, Kinetic Analysis, University of Valencia and SPORTLAB S.S.D.A.R.L.)
During the event, participants will learn more about the projects and their achievements and can engage in various sports activities. Explore the agenda by clicking on this link.
To attend please register on the official registration form.
Event information:
Title: Women in European Sport: Participation. Empowerment. Leadership
Date: June 26th 2023
Time: from 10:45 to 18:30
Location: Centre Sportif de la Forêt de Soignes at Waversesteenweg 2057, 1160 Oudergem, Brussels (Belgium)
For more information on “Women in European Sport” please visit the event on EPSI’s LinkedIn Page.
