ADVANCING GENDER EQUALITY THROUGH SPORT: EMPOWERING WOMEN AND GIRLS THROUGH EQUAL PARTICIPATION AND LEADERSHIP IN ATHLETICS

Abstract

Sport is a high-leverage site for advancing gender equality, yet women and girls continue to face systematic barriers in access, compensation, media portrayal, and governance. Drawing on cross-national evidence and policy analysis, this chapter examines how structured athletic participation empowers women physically, psychologically, and socially; identifies structural, cultural, and psychological obstacles that sustain inequality; and synthesizes evidence-based interventions that demonstrably close participation and leadership gaps. The chapter proposes the REACH Framework — Resource equity, Equitable governance, Access infrastructure, Cultural transformation, Human capital pipeline — as an integrated model for gender-transformative sport systems. The central argument is that parity on the field of play is necessary but insufficient; durable equality demands deliberate structural reform across the institutions that govern, fund, and represent sport.