More women encouraged to take up administrative roles in sports

PASO Women and Sports Commission President,
Nicole Hoevertsz, receives an award for her achievements from
Barbados Olympic Association (BOA) President, Steve Stoute.

THE small number of women taking up administrative positions in sports organisations is a major cause for concern and the ongoing National Conference on Girls & Women in Sport aims to tackle the issue head on.

The conference, which began on Saturday at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus, was themed ‘Investing in Our Future’ and sought to highlight the challenges, as well as offer solutions, to the problems women face in sports.

Veda Bruno-Victor, Secretary General of the
Grenada Olympic Committee, presented an eye-opening
session on Saturday at the conference. Here, she receives
an award from President of the BOA, Steve Stoute. 

Around the world, the number of women in executive positions in sports bodies is still quite small and Nicole Hoevertsz, the President of the Pan American Sports Organisation (PASO) Women and Sport Commission believes this is a travesty in this day and age.

“If women are 50-51 per cent of the world’s population, why do we have to struggle to get more women in executive positions? Why do we have to struggle still after so many years to accomplish 20 per cent of decision making positions being women. That means we are still accepting that 80 per cent of decision making positions are held by men,” said Hoevertsz.

Hoevertsz, an Aruban, is also a member of the International Olympic Committee’s Executive Council and represented her country in synchronised swimming at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. She is also one of the co-ordinators for the upcoming 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

She made it quite clear that she doesn’t think that women are better than men and that women have a lot to offer as sports administrators. Contrary to what some people think when women are crying for equal rights, Hoevertsz noted they were not there to fight men; they just want to be able to contribute in meaningful ways in sports.

“We are not fighting the men. In fact what we are doing is we are offering ourselves and our knowledge and our experience, talents and intelligence to together with the men to lead the way for our children, boy and girls, to find their way in the world of sports,” said Hoevertsz.

The PASO Women and Sport Commission was created in 1998 and its aim has been to open more ways for women to become sports executives. On the field of play, women are more than holding their own and, this year at the London Olympics, there was almost equal parity when it came to male and female participants at the Games.

“Women compete in all sports on the Olympic programme and that is a big accomplishment when you look back to 1896 when women were not allowed to participate. Now we are doing so almost equally, but what we need are more coaches, more referees and more women administrators. That is why we have all of these seminars, so we can share with you the experience, the message that being involved in sports in whatever position it is, is very important for all of us. Women have the right to be present in sport at all levels,” said Hoevertsz.
The conference concluded on Sunday. (PG)