Harnessing the Power of Women in Sports

Harnessing The Power of Women in Sports - Hosted by the AIIA Queensland



Join us either in-person or online with Associate Professor Popi Sotiriadou who will discuss how the achievements of female athletes can be a diplomatic tool to enhance the legacies of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

If you are attending in-person, please arrive at Holding Redlich at 5.30pm for registration and drinks. This event will be available online. After registering, on May 9 you will receive a follow-up confirmation email containing further details on how to join the webinar which will commence at 6pm AEST. The event is free for AIIA Queensland members and AIIA members from all states. Non-members pay $10 and student non-members $5.

If you arrive after 6pm, the lifts may not be accessible. Ring 0403 777 541 for assistance.

Images Supplied: Bidgee and &DC

License: Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Australia​ and Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)​

As the 2032 Brisbane Olympics approach, there is increasing interest in using the event as an opportunity to promote important social issues, such as gender equality, and to leverage sports as a means of advancing diplomacy and international relations. Women's participation and performance in high-performance sports have significantly increased in recent years. The number of women competing in the Olympic Games has been steadily increasing since 1900. At the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021, approximately 49% of the athletes were women, while 51% were men. This was the highest-ever percentage of female participation in the history of the Olympic Games, compared to just 2.2% in the 1900 Paris Olympics.

However, women's sports continue to face inequalities in pay and sponsorship, media coverage, facilities or equipment, and leadership positions. Women are often underrepresented in leadership positions in sports organisations and decision-making roles. The success of women in sports can promote gender equality, raise awareness of gender issues, and serve as a tool for diplomacy and cooperation between nations. The 2032 Olympics in Brisbane can prioritise gender equality, foster cross-cultural exchange, use sports diplomacy, and highlight the impact of women's sports to promote a more peaceful, equitable, and just world.