In an inaugural Commonwealth Women Leader’s Summit, it will be announced today that a Transformation 2022 Gender Equality Taskforce has been set up by Louise Martin CBE, President of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), with a mandate to “leave no stone unturned” in pursuit of gender equality opportunities across the Commonwealth sporting spectrum, quoted in a release to media from the Commonwealth Games Federation.
The new Gender Equality Taskforce aims to deliver for women and girls through sport, headed by CGF Vice Presidents Kereyn Smith (New Zealand) and Bruce Robertson (Canada), will work with sporting stakeholders, include future Games and Youth Games Host Cities, International Federations and member Commonwealth Games Associations to comprehensively audit and explore opportunities for gender equality.
The new verdict of the Commonwealth Games Federation will cover all of the Commonwealth Sport Movement’s activities and impacts and this follows the election of Louise Martin CBE, as the first ever female President of the CGF, September last year.
Louise Martin CBE, speaking about this new development, said: “I am passionately committed to ensuring that we live our values of Humanity, Equality, Destiny in everything we do.”
Further she added, “I’ve asked our Transformation 2022 Gender Equality Taskforce to leave no stone unturned as they explore how Commonwealth sport and everyone in our diverse sporting family can better deliver for women and girls.”
Concluding her statement, she added, “I believe our dynamic sporting movement has an important part to play in an energised, engaged and empowered Commonwealth of Nations and Territories, and especially so in this Year of ‘An Inclusive Commonwealth.’ We are delighted to be participating in today’s Commonwealth Women Leaders’ Summit and look forward to playing a lead role in realizing ambitions and opportunities through sport for all Commonwealth citizens.”
The newly formed taskforce will:
- scope and oversee plans to achieve athlete equality in both opportunity and participation at the Commonwealth and Commonwealth Youth Games; a progressive approach to gender equity across team and technical officials at the Games;
- formulate strategies to increase the number of women coaches;
- formulate strategies for gender equity across CGF and CGA Governance;
- create mandates for bid and host cities to increase the participation of women as board members, paid staff and volunteers in Organising Committees of the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Youth Games.
Supporting the Taskforce in implementation of the Gender equality measures, the CGF will work in partnership with the Commonwealth Secretariat and other strategic partners to advocate for the idea in the Commonwealth, helping break down barriers to girls and women and promote the importance and benefits of equal rights among boys and men, in particular those participating and leading in sport.
The Secretary General- Commonwealth, Patricia Scotland, in her statement related to the Transformation 2022, said: “This will be the first of a series of meetings we will hold together as women leaders of the Commonwealth.”
Furthering her statement, she said,”I want to re-invigorate the Commonwealth’s commitments on gender equality and the global goals, and it is great to see the Commonwealth Games Federation playing an active and leading part to help level the playing field for women and girls, in sport and throughout society.”
The Scotland based version of Commonwealth Games, i.e. Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games presented the highest percentage of medal events for women – 48.5% – of any major games in history, a significant step towards the vision of gender equality.
A series of other initiatives were taken in-line with the vision, like: having both women and men represented in Vice-Presidential elections, setting a target for gender equality in technical officials officiating at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games and ensuring equity in athlete participation guaranteed through athlete quotas at Durban 2022. Last week, the CGF & ICC sat together to include Women’s Cricket to the sports programme of the Durban 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The Summit has been convened by Secretary General Patricia Scotland to inform work on the Secretariat’s Gender Equality Framework 2020. It brought together female leaders from across the Commonwealth to discuss the road map to 2020 across three specific subject areas: violence against women and girls, women in leadership and women’s economic empowerment.