Kirsty Coventry Calls for More Women Leaders in Global Sport

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry has urged sporting organisations worldwide to shift their focus from increasing women's participation to creating leadership opportunities at every level of sport. Speaking at the ninth International Working Group (IWG) Global Summit on Women and Sport in Birmingham, she highlighted that true gender equality extends beyond athletes competing on the field and must include women serving as coaches, officials, executives, and decision-makers. Her address reinforced the summit's overarching theme of turning progress into lasting, measurable change across the global sporting landscape.

Key Highlights

• Kirsty Coventry calls for stronger leadership pathways for women across sport
• IOC President says participation alone is no longer enough to achieve gender equality
• IWG Global Summit focuses on leadership, innovation, and lasting change in women's sport

The three-day summit, held from 9–11 July 2026 under the theme Beyond the Breakthrough, brought together global sports leaders to discuss leadership, investment, innovation, visibility, and participation. Addressing delegates, Coventry reflected on her personal journey from Zimbabwe to becoming an Olympic champion and the first woman and first African to lead the International Olympic Committee. She described sport as a powerful platform that builds confidence, resilience, and leadership among women and girls while helping them shape their futures.

Coventry emphasised that sport had taught her perseverance from an early age, proving that dedication and hard work outweigh setbacks. She said these life lessons continue to demonstrate why sport remains a vital tool for empowering women worldwide.

Highlighting recent progress, Coventry pointed to the achievement of full gender parity among athletes at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the IOC's ambition to make the 2030 Winter Olympics the first gender-equal Winter Games. She also noted that women now represent more than 43 per cent of IOC members. In contrast, women and girls account for half of the 1.5 million participants in IOC-supported community sport programmes since 2022.

Despite these milestones, Coventry stressed that participation figures alone cannot define success. She explained that visibility changes expectations by inspiring girls to imagine themselves competing at the highest level while also encouraging athletes to see coaching, officiating, and leadership as achievable career pathways beyond competition.

Calling leadership the next frontier for women's sport, Coventry urged sporting organisations to establish measurable goals, invest in women coaches and leadership development programmes, strengthen safeguarding measures, and create more inclusive sporting environments. She stressed that sport still requires more women coaches, technical officials, team leaders, board members, and presidents to achieve genuine equality.

Coventry also underlined the importance of collaboration between governments, educational institutions, communities, civil society, and the private sector, stating that no single organisation can transform the sporting landscape alone.

The summit further explored practical approaches to advancing women's sport through a session led by Professor Fiona Chambers and READY Sport Global founder Lucy Mills. Their discussion examined how research and innovation can be translated into meaningful action that strengthens leadership structures and creates sustainable opportunities for women across sport.