Sport
is one of the most powerful platforms for promoting gender equality and
empowering women and girls.
Sources:https://olympics.com/ioc/gender-equality/gender-equality-through-timehttps://olympics.com/ioc/opinion/women-will-make-history-at-paris-2024https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/08/24/sports/olympics/countries-where-women-won-more-medals-than-men-in-rio.htmlhttps://now.tufts.edu/2024/07/17/why-do-some-countries-win-more-olympic-medalshttps://news.cctv.com/2024/07/02/ARTIm7WCBqB1cR2yUV2cwBbw240702.shtmlAt
the 2024 Paris Olympics, a total of 10,500 athletes are competing, with 5,250
men and 5,250 women, achieving an equal gender ratio for the first time in the
128-year history of the Olympics. This is indeed an important historical
milestone. However, for women in some countries, achieving equal participation
in sports is an insurmountable challenge, let alone having equal numbers of
male and female athletes.After
the women’s 100-meter sprint at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Afghan athlete Kamia
Yousufi displayed a message written on the back of her bib to the world:
"Education, Sports, Our Rights." Kamia Yousufi is one of six athletes
representing Afghanistan at the 2024 Paris Olympics, a delegation selected by
the Afghan Olympic Committee in exile.Why
did Yousufi display this message? Because women are banned from engaging in
sports in Afghanistan, and the Taliban does not recognize Yousufi as
representing Afghanistan. Yousufi lives in Australia as a refugee. She could
have competed in the Paris Olympics as part of the Refugee Olympic Team, but
she chose to represent Afghanistan and speak out for Afghan women.
Historical Milestones in Women and OlympicsIn
1979, the right of women to participate in sport was formally included in an
international convention for the first time, the Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.In
1994, the International Working Group (IWG) on Women and Sport was established
and held its inaugural World Conference on Women and Sport in Brighton (UK).
This important Conference gave rise to the Brighton Declaration, an
international treaty to support the ongoing development of a fairer and more
equitable system of sport and physical activity. The IOC supported the
initiative and became a signatory to the Declaration.In
1995, the United Nations organized the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action
for Equality, Development and Peace in Beijing (China). The resulting Beijing
Declaration and Platform for Action included for the first time a specific
reference to sport as a tool for gender equality and women’s empowerment.In
1996, the IOC amended the Olympic Charter, explicitly stating for the first
time that one of the IOC's responsibilities is "to implement the principle
of equality of men and women, and to encourage, support, and promote the
participation of women in sport at all levels and in all structures."The
IOC established its Women and Sport Working Group in 1995. In 2004, the Women
and Sport Working Group became a formal commission. In 2022, the IOC Women in
Sport Commission was renamed the IOC Gender Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
Commission.The Long Road to Gender EqualityWomen
first appeared in the Olympic Games at the 1900 Paris Olympics, where 22 female
athletes competed in five sports: tennis, sailing, croquet, equestrian, and
golf. They made up only 2.2% of the total 997 participants.Since
then, female participation in the Olympics has grown slowly. At the 1964 Tokyo
Olympics, women made up only 13.2% of the athletes, and by the 1984 Los Angeles
Olympics, the percentage had increased to 23%. It wasn't until the 1990s that
the gap in participation rates between male and female athletes began to narrow
significantly. In 1991, the IOC decided that any new Olympic sport must include
events for women. By the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the percentage of female
athletes had risen to 34%, reaching 48% at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. For the
first time, the 2024 Paris Olympics will see an equal 50% participation rate
for female athletes.
![]()
Source:https://olympics.com/ioc/gender-equality/gender-equality-through-timeThe
growth in the participation rate of female athletes in the Olympic Games is
closely related to the increasing number of sports events that allow women to
compete. The table below lists the women's sports events introduced in various
Summer Olympic Games, some of which were discontinued and later reinstated.
With the inclusion of women's boxing, the 2012 London Olympics became the first
Olympic Games in which women competed in every sport. Currently, the only
Olympic event without female participation is Greco-Roman wrestling, while
synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics are the only events exclusively
for women.In
the last 20 years, the IOC has also increased the number of women’s events on
the Olympic program, in cooperation with the IFs and the Organizing Committees.
With the addition of women’s boxing, the 2012 Olympic Games in London were the
first in which women competed in every sport on the Olympic program.Introduction
of women’s sports![]()
*
Sports re-introduced to the Olympic Programme.https://olympics.com/ioc/gender-equality/gender-equality-through-timeAdditionally,
the 2021 Tokyo Olympics implemented a rule change that allowed one male and one
female athlete to jointly carry the flag during the opening ceremony.
Ninety-one percent of National Olympic Committees had female flag bearers,
which helped to increase the visibility and recognition of female athletes in
the Olympics.Of
course, gender equality in sports goes beyond achieving equal numbers of male
and female participants. There are still many areas where gender equality
remains a challenge, such as the gender gap in athlete earnings, coaching, and
sports administration.In
the past decade, only 10% of Olympic coaches have been women, and this number
has seen little change.As
of January 2024, out of the 106 current members of the International Olympic
Committee, 43 are women, making up 40.6%.The
participation rate of female athletes in the Winter Olympics has yet to reach
50%. At the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, the percentage of female athletes was
44.7%.
https://olympics.com/ioc/gender-equality/gender-equality-through-timeWhich Gender Won Most Gold Medals for Their Country: Women
or Men?Over
the past century, the participation of female athletes in the Olympics has
grown from zero to 50%. Female athletes have excelled in the Olympics, and in
many countries, women have won more gold medals despite lower participation
rates compared to their male counterparts.A
report by The New York Times analyzed the gender ratio of medal winners from
various countries at the Olympics from 1948 to 2016, finding that 29 countries
had female athletes who won more medals in total than male athletes. This trend
has been particularly evident in recent Olympic Games, where female athletes
have performed exceptionally well, including those from countries such as
China, the United States, the Netherlands, and Canada. China stands out in
particular; since 1988, Chinese female Olympic athletes have consistently
outperformed their male counterparts (which will be analyzed in detail later),
making it one of the earliest countries where female athletes surpassed male
athletes in performance, to the extent that there is a saying about "the
decline of male dominance." In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, American female
athletes became the first to win more medals than their male counterparts in
the Summer Olympics.
![]()
Source:https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/08/24/sports/olympics/countries-where-women-won-more-medals-than-men-in-rio.htmlSource:https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/08/24/sports/olympics/countries-where-women-won-more-medals-than-men-in-rio.htmlParticipation and Performance of Chinese Female Athletes in
the Summer OlympicsLet’s
start with the 2024 Paris Olympics. China is sending a total of 405 athletes to
compete, including 269 female athletes and 136 male athletes, meaning that
female athletes account for 66.4% of the delegation. This is a slight decrease
from the previous Tokyo Olympics, where female athletes made up 69.1%.Analyzing
the complete list of the Chinese sports delegation for the 2024 Paris Olympics,
there are 13 events in which only female athletes are competing (including two
events—synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics—where only female athletes
can participate). The difference in the number of male and female athletes in
the Chinese delegation is primarily determined by team sports. Except for the
men’s 3x3 basketball team, the Chinese men's teams in other sports, including
the "big three" sports of basketball, football, and volleyball, as
well as beach volleyball, rugby, water polo, handball, and field hockey, have not
qualified for the Olympics.Additionally,
in sports such as judo, marathon swimming, skateboarding, surfing, and
triathlon, there are no male athletes from China, further widening the gap in
participation between male and female athletes.Among
all the events in which the Chinese delegation is participating in the 2024
Paris Olympics, the only event with male athletes but no female athletes is
equestrian. The Chinese delegation has sent two male athletes to compete in
this event, but there are no female athletes participating.Number of Athletes by Gender in the Chinese Sports
Delegation for the 2024 Paris Olympics![]()
The
chart below shows that from the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics to the 2024 Paris
Olympics, only three editions—1984 Los Angeles, 1988 Seoul, and 2008
Beijing—had more male athletes participating than female athletes. In 2008,
benefiting from being the host country, China automatically qualified for
several men's team events, significantly increasing the number of male
athletes. In the other eight Olympic Games, the number of female athletes
exceeded that of male athletes, with the participation rate of female athletes
from China consistently exceeding 60% in the last three Olympic Games.From
1984 to 2021, a total of 2,116 female athletes represented China at the Summer
Olympics (including some who participated in multiple editions), accounting for
56.99%. In comparison, a total of 1,597 male athletes represented China
(including some who participated in multiple editions), accounting for 43.01%.
![]()
Source:
General Administration of Sport of China
Why?
Is it because the number of male athletes in China is less than that of female
athletes?That
is not the case. According to the General Administration of Sport of China,
there were over 67,000 athletes in China in 2022, with male athletes accounting
for more than half at 61.9%, while female athletes made up only 38.1%.When
analyzing athletes by technical level, the gender composition shows distinct
characteristics: among China's top athletes (i.e., international-level
athletes), female athletes make up nearly two-thirds. However, at other lower
levels, the number of male athletes far exceeds that of female athletes.Chinese
athletes are categorized into four levels based on their technical
classification: the highest level is international-level athletes, followed by
national-level athletes, then first-level athletes and second-level athletes.
There are only 143 international-level athletes, making up 0.2% of the total;
1,486 national-level athletes, accounting for 2.2%; 19,700 first-level
athletes, representing 29.4%; and approximately 45,700 second-level athletes,
which constitutes 68.1% of the total.Among
the top international athletes, the percentage of female athletes is as high as
64.3%, almost two-thirds. In 2022, there were 143 international athletes in
China, of which 92 were female; however, among athletes at lower technical
levels, the percentage of female athletes is below half.
![]()
Source:
General Administration of Sport of ChinaThe
gender composition characteristics of Chinese athletes at different technical
levels can partially explain why the participation rate of female athletes in
the Chinese delegation at multiple Summer Olympics has consistently been higher
than that of male athletes. In many Olympic events, particularly in team
sports, Chinese male athletes have faced challenges right from the start: they
have been unable to qualify for competition. In contrast, the high
participation rate of female athletes in the Olympics has been achieved through
their outstanding performances, securing their qualification.Next,
let's examine the performance of Chinese female athletes in past Summer
Olympics. The chart below shows the number of gold medals won by male and
female athletes from China at each Summer Olympics. As early as the 1988
Olympics, the number of gold medals won by female athletes exceeded that of
male athletes, making China one of the first countries where female athletes
outperformed their male counterparts in the Olympics. Furthermore, from the
1988 Seoul Olympics to the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, female athletes have won more
gold medals than male athletes in every Summer Olympics, including the 1988
Seoul Olympics and the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where the number of male athletes
competing exceeded that of female athletes.From
1984 to 2021, Chinese female athletes won a total of 150 gold medals,
accounting for 56.6%, while male athletes won a total of 115 gold medals,
accounting for 43.4%. This ratio is roughly in line with the overall participation
ratio of male and female athletes.
![]()
Source:
General Administration of Sport of China
Note:
In mixed-gender events, the medal count is divided equally, with each gender
counted as 0.5.The
chart below shows the gender composition of gold medal winners from the Chinese
delegation at each Summer Olympics. At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, the number
of gold medals won by female athletes accounted for as much as three-quarters
of the total! At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the proportion of gold medals won by
female athletes was 61.8%.
![]()
Source:
General Administration of Sport of ChinaAs
discussed earlier, China is not the only country where female athletes have won
more gold medals. Why can female athletes in some countries win more medals?Michael
Klein believes that a country's success for women in the Olympics is closely
linked to the economic opportunities they receive. Countries where women
participate more fully in the workforce tend to be the same countries where
women perform better in international sporting events. Klein's analysis of data
from the 2000 Sydney Olympics found that the higher the female labor
participation rate in a country, the more medals women won at the Olympics.
1.“Pressure
is a privilege– it only comes to those
who earn it.”– Billie Jean King and Christine Brennan, Pressure
is a Privilege: Lessons I've Learned from Life and the Battle of the Sexes
2.“And more and more I come to loathe any dominion of one over another;
any leadership, any imposition of the will.”– Virginia
Woolf, A Writer's Diary: Being Extracts from the Diary of Virginia Woolf
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