EU: Council Conclusions on gender equality in sport lack ambition
[Brussels, 27 May 2014] On 20 May 2014, EU Ministers for education, youth, culture and sport, agreed on Council Conclusions on gender equality in sport. The Conclusions reiterate the European fundamental core value of equality between women and men and refer to both the EU Conference on Gender Equality in Sport (Vilnius, Dec.2013) and the Brighton Declaration on Women and Sport (from the first World Conference on Women and Sport, 1994). They build on the recently adopted Proposal for Strategic Actions 2014-2020 for ’Gender Equality in Sport’. The European Women’s Lobby welcomes the acknowledgment of the role of gender stereotypes in sport, the prevalence of sexual violence, the lack of women in decision-making bodies, the problem of trafficking for sexual exploitation around major sporting events, and the sexist media coverage.
However, the Conclusions are quite shy in terms of assessment of the reality of gender (in)equality in sport, and in terms of recommendations to the different stakeholders concerned (recalling the principle of subsidiarity for member states, and the autonomy of sport organisations). You will find here a reaction of Annie Sugier, Vice-President of EWL French member organisation CLEF (in French).
