the olympic movement towards gender...

THE OLYMPIC

MOVEMENT TOWARDS

GENDER EQUALITY

An Analysis of Historical, Cultural and Present Day Gender Equity of the Olympic Movement

A report compiled by: Matthew Hillebrand, Chrissy Maleske, and Zach Verch

THE OLYMPIC MOVEMENT TOWARDS GENDER EQUALITY 2

Introduction

The following paper is an in-depth analysis of gender equity within the Olympic

Movement. The historical, cultural and present-day climate of the Movement is investigated to

determine the progress and issues regarding gender equity. Upon examination of these topics

suggestions will be provided to assist the IOC and Olympic Movement to continue progressing

and possibly achieve gender equity.

History of the Olympic Movement amongst Women

In 1896, Pierre de Coubertin created the modern Olympic movement in an attempt to

unite the world through sport. Further, he identified that excellence, friendship and respect would

be the primary values of the Movement. Today, de Coubertin’s Olympic ideology is upheld and

managed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which has not only affected

international relations of countries, but has affected the way in which sport is seen throughout the

world. Though even with these positive implications, the Olympic Movement has not been free

from controversy when addressing gender equality (The Olympic Museum Educational and

Cultural Services, n.d.).

Women’s Participation in the Olympic Games

Women’s involvement in the Olympics first started at the Paris Games in 1900. During

these Games, only 22 women out of a total of 997 athletes competed. Clearly, women’s

involvement in the early 1900’s was limited. However, female participation in the games has


steadily increased since Paris. To help illustrate this notion, Appendix A shows the gradual

increase of women participating in the Olympic Games, in terms of the percentage of events

devoted to women.

As shown in Appendix A, in 1904 only 3.3% of the total events were for women athletes,

whereas in 2012, almost half of the events involved women’s participation. Meanwhile, in the

2014 Sochi Winter Games, 50 percent of the events were devoted to women. Although the

improvement of female participation has been slow, it is incredible how much the gender gap of

participation has been diminished merely within this domain of the Olympic Movement. This

increase in participation suggests the IOC has been making progress in terms of achieving gender

equality when regarding athletes and the Games themselves (“Factsheet Women,” 2013).

Female Leadership in the Olympic Movement

According to the IOC, objectives have set forth to increase the percentage of women in

governing and administrative bodies of the Olympic Movement. The following quote is an

example of one objective created by the IOC:

“NOCS, IF’s, National Federations and sporting bodies belonging to the Olympic

Movement must set the objective of reserving at least 20% of decision-making positions

for women within their structures.”

While the goal stated above appears attainable, the history of the games illustrates how these

objectives are achieved at in an untimely manner or not achieved at all. For instance, women

were not allowed to become members of the IOC until 1981, which is almost 100 years after the

Olympic Movement was created. In addition, a woman was not given a predominant leadership


position until 1997, when Anita DeFrantz became Vice-President of the IOC. Today, four

women are on the IOC’s executive board (“Factsheet Women,” 2013).

It appears the IOC is passive in enforcing and achieving their objectives of gender equity.

This can further be shown through the ratio of males to females within the IOC; presently out of

the 110 members of the IOC only 24 are female. This should be increased as there appears to be

a much larger percentage of women competing in the games (“Factsheet Women,” 2013). Due to

the fact the IOC has pitfalls in achieving gender equity within its organizations, the question

becomes why should National Olympic Committees (NOCs) be timely in achieving gender

equity?

Concepts Pertaining to the Female History of the Olympic Movement

It is natural to associate senior management positions in sport with males because of the

stereotypical traits culturally associated with the male gender. However, the IOC proves to be

making major strides toward creating more management positions for women.

The IOC appears to have completed three frames of gender equity: fix the woman, value

the feminine and create equal opportunities. Coinciding with the first frame, the IOC has

changed the perception of women as athletes. They have greatly increased the number of events

in which women can participate; therefore diminishing the notion of women athletes being weak.

For the second frame, value the feminine, it is evident the IOC has completed this frame

when it opened its membership and leadership positions to women. Although, it appears the IOC

is still within the third frame of creating equal opportunity. The IOC has taken a proactive

approach in regards to this frame though its leadership development and accepting women as

influencers of the Olympic Movement. Likewise, the IOC has created conferences and several


other subcommittees to create opportunities other opportunities for women; this will be discussed

more in depth later within this paper.

When the IOC fails to follow through on their own gender equity policies, it hinders the

overall process of achieving gender equality amongst all parties within the Olympic Movement.

From feminist perspectives, liberal feminists would be pleased with the progress that is being

made in terms of leadership, but they would still advocate for equality opportunities in

administrative and leadership roles. Radical feminists would be irate at the lack of progress

being made, and would support separate divisions within the IOC, International Federations (IFs)

and NOCs to coordinate women’s sports. In addition, they would recommend the leadership of

the female sport division to be women and women only.

IOC Documents and Publications

The Olympic Charter

In 1908, de Coubertin wrote and published the first Olympic Charter. Since its creation

the document has been rewritten, changed or adapted 66 times. Since the beginning of the

Olympic Movement the social traits of religion, color and national origin were all protected from

discrimination. It was not until the end of the 20th century that the Olympic Charter included

“all” practices of discrimination. Although “all” practices of discrimination were prohibited

within the Olympic Movement, gender discrimination was still present throughout Olympic

history as previously discussed (“The Olympic Charter through Time,” n.d.)

In 2004, gender discrimination finally was specifically barred from the Olympics. Today,

gender is included in a statement known as “Principle 6”. Interestingly enough though, this

Principle has not seen any controversy from a gender standpoint, but instead has been protested


from the gay and lesbian front. As seen by the campaign started prior to the 2014 Sochi Games,

which protested the anti-gay laws present in Russia (Purpose Foundation, 2014). Below is the

exact language of Principle 6:

“Any form of discrimination with regard to country or person on grounds of race,

religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic

Movement” (“Olympic Charter”, 2011).

World Conference of Women and Sport Commission

The IOC recognizes the importance of a collaborative effort involving men and women to

help attain gender equality in sport. Hence, every four years the IOC hosts the World Conference

of Women and Sport Commission. The mission of the conference is to discuss and increase the

involvement of women in the Olympic Movement and Games. The conference hosts multiple

speakers and panels that inform the international sports community about the importance of

involving women. Additionally, after each conference a document is formulated, which outlines

the gender equity related goals and objective meant to be fulfilled by the IOC before the next

conference (“Women and Sport Commission,” 2013).

The Dead Sea Plan of Action

The Dead Sea Plan of Action was created by the IOC in March 2008 prior to the Beijing

Olympic Games. The document itself was not exercised at the Beijing Games due to the lack of

preparation; however the objectives were established in order to be completed following the

Games. One principal proposed was the suggestion at least one woman be on the executive

boards of every NOCs/ IF. This was a enforceable requirement, meaning that the NOC could


receive some form of punishment for violating the principal. Examples of punishment illustrated

was the NOC or IF losing funding from the IOC or being banned from Olympic competition.

Other suggestions that the Dead Sea Plan put forward were:

Suggestions for IFs to include women on their executive boards akin to NOCs

Increase the number of women registered for the Congress of the Olympic Movement in

August 2008 in Denmark.

Promote female involvement in the Youth Olympic Games, as well as ideas of health and

well-being.

Create a network for women in the Olympic Movement.

Ask for more funding for the World Conference of Women and Sport from the IOC.

Improve perceptions of women in sports through media and create a better environment

for women journalists during the Olympics.

These suggestions, although great in theory, never were accomplished and were merely ignore

for other plans set forth by IOC. However, women have gained much in sport participation in

the Olympics, but as noted earlier women are still lacking behind in leadership, which is what the

Dead Sea Plan of Action oriented to improve. Yet, it appears the IOC and Olympic leadership

lost sight of this document.

Nevertheless, some positive implications did occur due this document. The Dead Sea

Plan of Action set the baseline of when a sport is inducted into the Olympic Games, there must

be equality in events for men and women. Under this proclamation, the Rio de Janeiro Games in

2016 will be adding Rugby and Golf to the Olympics, and there will be a medaled event for both

men and women. If the IOC continues to promote equality in this manner they will continue to

progress in obtaining gender equity (“Dead Sea,” 2008).


The Los Angeles Declaration

In 2012, the 5th IOC World Conference on Women and Sport took place in Los Angeles in

February 2012, and again, the conglomerate of IOC leaders called for a change in women’s roles

in sport. Specifically, IOC President Jacques Rogge said, “I can pledge and I can promise that

we will do what is needed.” This is a powerful quote coming from arguably the most powerful

man in sports. The theme of the Conference was “Together Stronger: the Future of Sport.” This

powerful theme is the brainchild of some of the most powerful and brilliant men and women in

sports; it is a textbook example of the Olympic values of unity through sport. Like the Dead Sea

Action Plan, the Los Angeles Declaration outlined many points to improve gender relations in

the Olympic Games. Yet, the first point in the document states IOC desire to remain consistent

with the Dead Sea Plan from four years prior. The perceived lack of progress and willingness to

stay on the same plan as laid out four years earlier is a little shocking given the amount of

progress that is typically wanted by these conferences. Other points include:

Reviewing the mandate placing women on executive boards of the NOCs, and

establishing a better way to monitor it.

All IOC involved organizations such as NOC’s, IFs, and Organizing Committees

(OCOG), attempt to achieve more gender equity in their executive boards.

Women in sport should represent the larger struggle experienced by the female gender in

the world. Thus, the Olympic Movement should assist and promote equality in the world,

not just in sport.

The IOC should become more involved with the governments of nations and promote

women’s rights.


Reiterating support for the Youth Olympic Games as a vessel to support young women

and girls in sport and around the world.

Nevertheless, the Declaration does not give a decisive plan of action for making these goals

reality. They defer to the plans laid out in the Dead Sea Plan, which are quite ambiguous (“The

Los Angeles Declaration,” 2012).

Application of Gender Relation Principals

These documents are broad undertaking that do not fully acknowledge the necessary

actions needed to achieve gender equity within the Olympic Movement. Socialist Feminist

would proclaim the IOC’s efforts in allowing men and women to have equal control over the

participation and control of sport. Withal, they would criticism the lack of actual action and

consider the distribution of final resources, such as training, coaching and education, to be

inadequately addressed at the conferences and within the documents. The documents do not

consider the patriarchal and hegemonic masculinity present within the structure and leadership of

the IOC. Furthermore, they would argue the actions set forth by an individual organization, like

the IOC, is not enough to reconstruction the social norms and cultures of society, which oppress

women.

On the contrary of Socialist Feminist beliefs, the documents from the Women and Sport

Conference fit within the third frame of achieving gender equity, creating opportunities for

women in sport. Nonetheless, there has not been much success when regarding these documents,

thus it is apparent the IOC needs to improve their efforts in obtaining gender equity within their

patriarchal structure and expand their reach to society at large.


Hyperandrogenism

Hyperandrogenism is when a woman is naturally producing “too much” testosterone and

is a considered a type of sexual development disorder (Boyse, 2012). Individuals diagnosed with

Hyperandrogenism are sometimes called intersex because both male and female biological traits

and/or organs are exhibited concurrently. This disorder has been an issue for the IOC in the past

few Olympic cycles, notably the issue began at the 2009 Track World Championships with the

gender testing saga of Caster Semenya, the track star from South Africa.

The IOC has a vague policy when addressing individuals classified or appearing to be a

member of the intersex known as “gender testing”. Withal, this policy is practiced exclusively

with female athletes because the testosterone hormone, in the IOC’s eyes, is seen as an unnatural

occurance within females and an unfair advantage. This policy is currently still in place and was

practiced in both the 2012 London and 2014 Sochi Games (Medical and Scientific Department of

IOC, 2012).

Testosterone and Performance Improvement with Hyperandrogensism

Testosterone has been linked to increased athletic performance for decades. According to

the Mayo Clinic findings, anabolic/androgenic steroids are just a synthetic form of testosterone

one can add to their natural levels of testosterone. The anabolic effects lead to increased athletic

performance, quicker recovery, and an easier buildup of muscle mass. Androgenic effects

include the user gaining more typically masculine characteristics, such as the voice deepening or

increased body or facial hair (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2012).


In regards to hyperandrogenism, the IOC is concerned with women gaining a competitive

edge from overproducing testosterone compared to other women, which they view as an unfair

competitive advantage, akin to PED’s.

Estrogen, the primary hormone associated with women, has little effects on athletic

performance. According to a study done in 2011 regarding the menstrual cycle, which causes

estrogen levels to naturally vary during the month and coming to a peak during ovulation, there

is no change on athletic performance in women (Reynolds, 2011). Therefore, varying levels of

estrogen in males likely will not change the level of athletic performance, so they typically are

not subjected to gender testing because of naturally occurring phenomena like women are.

Notwithstanding, estrogen is connected to increased bone mass and strength in females.

Though studies have not researched the effects of estrogen on male bones, hence there is a

possibility that estrogen may not give male athletes a competitive advantage when in

competition, but instead can decrease the likelihood of bone injury when training (Schiessl,

Frost, & Jee, 1998).

Additionally, even though there is evidence and research dictating that estrogen does not

increase athletic performance in males, there is the possibility the hormone could hinder it. For

example, there is a debate in research addressing how increased female hormones can increase

the likelihood of injury. Besides injury, estrogen can affect the cardiovascular system of athletes

by increasing the chance of blood clotting. Lastly, estrogen can cause higher blood sugar levels,

increased blood pressure level and weight gain (Womack, n.d.). Research has shown many of

these conditions to be present in males with high estrogen.

Yet, the IOC is more concerned with women having too high of levels of testosterone

competing with other women. The IOC has protocol laid out for only female gender testing. The


testing itself is flawed because there is no defining value of testosterone that qualifies one as a

male or a female. The lack of definition leaves too much to guesswork, and leaves the final

decision of whether the athlete is a male or female to the Chief Medical Officer of the IOC. This

ambiguity does not help the case of women in the Olympics and marginalizes the efforts made

by these extremely athletic women (Medical and Scientific Department of IOC, 2012).

Meanwhile, the IOC does not address or take into consideration male athletes, who are

possibly intersex and are hindered by their disorder. It is apparent the IOC is quick to judge

females athletes and determine if they are male or females. However, when addressing male

athletes the IOC has no desire and is unwilling to pass judgment on men who could actually be

women.

The Case of Caster Semenya

In the case of Semenya, she was born with a sexual development disorder. She outwardly

looks like a woman, yet she does not have ovaries or a uterus. Instead she has a pair of internal

testes, which are responsible for her elevated testosterone levels. According to data, this affects

one in every 130,000 births (Daum, 2009).

Semenya’s condition has increased the awareness of the intersex, as it reached a critical

point at the 2012 London Games. As described in Daum’s 2009 article, Semenya went to great

lengths to disguise her intersex classification by conveying highly feminine qualities. This

portray of femininity coincides with the concept of the Apologetic female. For example, after

receiving great criticism for being intersex, Semenya participated in a feature of You Magazine

in which she received a makeover. Within the feature, she expressed her happiness with


receiving the makeover and her desire to accentuate her female body: “Now that I know what I

can look like, I’d like to dress up more often.”

Semenya has taken the criticism well and has accepted being intersex. Notwithstanding,

some intersex athletes have not been able to handle the criticism around them. For instance, an

Indian runner received a medal in 2006 was stripped of her title for being intersex; following this

the runner attempted suicide (Daum, 2009).

Recreations to Intersex

As formerly stated, hyperandrogenism is a naturally occurring phenomenon and has made

women out to be in the wrong, when in fact men can suffer from the same condition. The IOC

only has a protocol in place to test women on hyperandrogenism and does not recognize the

possibility of males having this sexual development disorder. This is unjust and women should

seek for equality in the practice of medical protocol, or seek to abolish it.

Men and women should be tested and the differences should be scientifically defined, not

be judged by the Chief Medical Officer. The ambiguity of this so called “gender testing” does

not allow decisions to be clear. Intersex is a distinct gray area, people within this domain do exist

and are beginning to compete at high athletic level, including the Olympics. Additionally, Daum

proclaimed a point supporting gender testing:

“It was exciting to see the powerful Semenya win a race by a wide margin. But to learn

that this woman won - for lack of a better way of putting it - because she competed at

least partly on male terms sours the whole experience.”

This idea continues to project hegemonic masculinity into the Olympics; people who do

not fit into preconceived gender roles are marginalized and criticized. In essence gender testing


is a witch hunt for unique biological deviations within women only. Moreover, it is biological

stereotyping; women can be men, but men cannot be women. Although, one positive implication

of recognizing female intersex is it allows females to compete against men. Concurrently though,

male intersex may not get the chance to compete at all. Overall, female hyperandrogenism and

gender testing is another way illustration of the power of hegemonic masculinity and establishes

the Olympic movement as a patriarchal system.

Cultural Implications on the Olympic Games and Women Athletes

Olympic Games are a cultural haven; every two years the world focuses on the greatest

athletes in the world and proudly displays elements of nationalism for just about weeks.

Nonetheless, the games can sometimes be overshadowed by cultural stigmas and larger social

issues pertaining to several or specific countries participating in the games. For example, a few

nations have widespread issues pertaining to women’s rights. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia, Qatar

and Brunei were the last three countries to send women participants to the Olympics; the 2012

London Games was the first time all participating countries sent women athletes.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is recognized as a country lacking women’s rights and hosting a

government suppressing the rights of its female population. Specifically, women are barred from

traveling, conducting business or receiving medical procedures without their male “guardian”.

An example of this occurred in July of 2012, a woman was hospitalized after a car crash and

needed her hand amputated. The hospital and doctors postponed the amputation due to the lack

of present of a male guardian (Human Rights Watch, 2012).


Due to stories like the one described above, it is no surprise that Saudi Arabia did not

allow any women to participate or represent their country at the Olympics until 2012. In fact, the

only reason they sent women was because of the IOC’s threat to ban the country from

participation (Meltzer, 2012). Saudi Arabia only sent two women, and one of them was an

American citizen, Sarah Attar. She completed as an Arabian athlete, and finished 43 seconds

behind the first place finisher of her heat, Kenya’s Janeth Jepkosgei Busienei (Palmer, 2012).

The other competitor was a judoist named Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani. In

just a minute, she was defeated by her Puerto Rican Opponent. Shahrkhani’s match was not

televised in Saudi Arabia and state-owned television stations decided to focus on other

competitions or crises. The IOC prohibited her from covering her face, thus she wore tight fitting

black cap. Many Islamic and individuals were upset her participation saying it violated Muslim

tradition. One preacher chastised Shahrkani’s participation and said, “Wojdan is a martyr of

Westernization and liberalism.” (Batrawy, 2012)

Other Implications to Consider

The culture in many nations does not promote equal treatment of women, or even all

races. On theguardian website, there is an interactive tool that lets the user find out a

tremendous amount of information regarding women’s rights and equality. This tool identifies

nations located in the Middle East, Africa and Oceania as regions most lacking in women’s

rights.

Around the world women are marginalized, do not have proper rights and are treated as

second class citizens. According to the United Nations Development Programme six out of ten of

the poorest people are women. Specifically, these women are the primary caregivers of their


families and they basically work to keep their families alive. Additionally, 75 percent of women

globally cannot receive bank loans due to the fact they are unpaid, do not have jobs and do not

own property. Furthermore, it is a well-known fact the world’s population comprises of more

than 50 percent of females. Withal, it is not well-known that women only own one percent of the

world’s wealth. For more information women globally, refer to Appendix B and C.

With these statistics in mind it is clear there are more issues to consider besides the fact

women around the world do not receive the opportunity to participate in sport. The IOC does not

recognize the individual factors that affect women’s participation within in each country.

Further, many NOCs do not have the funding to assist women out of poverty to participate in

sport, or the NOCs are funded by their nation’s government and thus cannot advocate for

women.

Overall, critical theorist would say the economic, educational and rights hindering

women from sport participation is being reproduced continuously by the governments and NOCs

of each nation. In addition, conflict theory would suggest due to the cultural norms of viewing

women as second class citizens, economically women can be privileged to participate in sports.

In order to diminish their implications, the interactionist theorists would suggest that the IOC

socially interacts and assists in tackling issues of poverty, education and overall women’s rights

to increase sport participation within each country.

Suggestions and Conclusion

This paper provided an in-depth look into the gender equity issues found within the

Olympic Movement. Specifically, the history of participation and leadership within the IOC was

addressed, as well as its present day status. Consecutively, the relatively new issue of


hyperandrogenism was discussed and the implications the new IOC protocol has on male, female

and intersex athletes. Lastly, culture was examined as a factor prohibiting the enforcement of the

ideals of the Olympic Movement. It was expressed and identified that there are several other

elements affecting a country and its NOC when attempting to achieve gender equity in sport.

Based off the research conducted, the following suggestions were devised with the belief

that they will assist the IOC and the Olympic Movement progress toward achieving gender

equity.

1. IOC leadership and membership should be proportional to male and female

participants of the Olympic Games.

2. IOC needs to fulfill goals from their Women and Sport Conference

declarations/documents.

3. IOC needs to be sensitive to cultures within each member country and create

goals that are realistic to accomplish for each NOC.

4. A disciplinary action plan should be established for violations of Principle 6 and

gender equity.

5. IOC should remove gender testing overall and be aware the occurrence of intersex

can be natural.


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Appendices

Appendix A: Women’s Participation in the Olympic Games- % of event

International Olympic Committee. (2013). Table C: Women’s Participation in the Olympic

Games- % of events. Switzerland.


Appendix B

Percent of Female of Employers World Wide

World Bank. (n.d). Featured Indicators: Employers, female (% of employment).

http://datatopics.worldbank.org/Gender/topic/economic-structure


Appendix C

2011 Life Expectancy of Women at the Age of 60 via Years

World Bank. (n.d). 2011- Life Expectancy at age 60, female (years).