There will be 10,500 athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and, for the first time in history, half will be women. The organizers are proud of the benchmark, which addresses more than a century of persistent on-field inequality.
But even as the ranks of athletes become equal, the thousands of coaches who lead them remain overwhelmingly male. For example, at the Tokyo Summer Games in 2021, women held just 13% of all coaching positions. The following year, women comprised a mere 10% of coaches at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games. The Guardian newspaper reported that this time around, the number is expected to reach only 25%.
That is an Olympic-size reminder that true gender equality can only be achieved when women have an equal chance to lead. Fortunately, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has the influence and tools to promote the change. It's time to do it.