INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC ACADEMY 7th JOINT - IOA

female sporting experiences, but also to contest for positions within
the regulatory institutions that govern women’s sport.
The struggle for institutional control is evident, not only in efforts
to increase the opportunities for participation but also in the
representation of women in administrative and coaching positions.
Ideological struggle is evident in a campaign to increase and improve
the coverage of women’s sport in the media and to transform cultural
images and ideas about women and physical activity (Theberge &
Birrell in Costa & Guthrie, 1994).
Nevertheless, the International Olympic Committee (IOC),
probably the most powerful administrative body in global sports, had
no female representatives until the 1980’s. In 1996, female
appointments constituted only 7 of 99 positions (Devenport, 1996).
Furthermore, between 1990 to 1996, 42 new appointments to the IOC
have been made, it can be noted that compared to forty male
appointees in the same time period there were there were two females.
It appears that the IOC is attempting to redress this gender
balance, Moreover the IOC takes pride in its targets to involve women
in 10 percent of executive decision making positions in National
Olympic Committees and in international and national sport
federations by the end of 2001, and in 20 percent of them, by the end
2005 (Devenport, 1996).
Research done by Rodrigues (2003) had shown outstandingly the
problem of under-representation in the IF’s: “Indeed, at all layers,
except for the paid staff, women represent less than 10% in 59.3% of
the IF’s and less than 20% in 21.9% of the IF’s (except for athletes
and Executive directors).” The figures are even lower regarding
elected personnel; only 66% of NOC’s have met the targets of 10% of
women representatives. Only 43% of the IF’s have met these targets
(official web site of the Olympic movement, 2003).
Furthermore, a review on National and European Dimensions of
Women and Sport Work, at the EWS (European, Women and Sport)
Conference (Berlin, 2002), highlighted the fact that although
significant improvement regarding female athletic had occurred, the
situation of female representation in leadership positions, remains
“quite desperate” (Pavlovic, 2002).
Currently, gender inequality can be observed to be systematic at
all levels of sport. Although, we can observe an increasing number of
- 314 -