IWG Women & Sport

11/12/2024

🎉 Celebrating 30 Years of IWG: A Global Movement for Women in Sport 🎉

Last night, we celebrated three decades of advancing visibility and opportunities for women and girls in sport at our Pearl Anniversary Dinner at London’s historic Guildhall, generously hosted by the City of London Corporation.


With HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and 150 senior leaders, athletes and changemakers in attendance, the evening showcased the power of collaboration and progress, featuring:

- A keynote from Getty Images, unveiling research on the visibility and portrayal of women and girls in sport:

✅ Women value imagery that improves self-esteem and empowerment.
✅ Inclusive visuals showing disability, different ages, and everyday people help drive participation.
✅ Women are not a homogenous group—representation must reflect regional and cultural diversity.

- A thought-provoking panel discussion chaired by Annamarie Phelps CBE OLY brought together leaders, including:

⭐ Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Paralympian
⭐ Chris Grant OBE, Chair of British Basketball Federation
⭐ Stacey Copeland, former boxer and broadcaster
⭐ Matt Barrett, founder of Goal Click, who shared an inspiring video from the Anita White Fund.

Annamarie Phelps reflected:

“We heard new insights from Getty Images focusing on realistic portrayal, recognition of intersectionality, and the impact of equal visibility. This valuable guidance will help sports organizations promote women’s teams, engage female fans, and design impactful marketing materials. Women’s sport is the place to invest if you want to make real impact—whether you’re a corporate, investor, or broadcaster.”

📣 Looking ahead: Join us at the 2026 IWG Global Summit in Birmingham - a landmark opportunity to unite, collaborate, and shape the future of women and girls in sport.

👉 Register your interest or explore partnership opportunities here: https://shorturl.at/qqBI0.

10/12/2024

As we mark the Pearl Anniversary of the Brighton plus Helsinki Declaration tonight, we’re thrilled to announce London Marathon Events (LME) as the latest signatory!

Jeanette Wong, CFO of London Marathon Events, says:

"We work to inspire activity for all ages, abilities, and demographics, and we are passionate about providing equity for girls and women. We know there is still more work to be done, and we look forward to driving further change alongside IWG."

Lisa O’Keefe MBE, Secretary General of IWG, says:

"We are delighted to welcome London Marathon Events as the latest signatory. Their clear focus on gender equality, from promoting participation to addressing women’s specific needs, is truly inspiring. We look forward to shining a spotlight on their brilliant work."

LME joins over 600 organizations worldwide committed to advancing gender equity and equality in sport. Their inspiring work includes:

✨ Dedicated support for women’s groups of all ages and demographics, including running crews, cycling groups and swimmers;

✨ Support for women taking part in mass participation events with training programmes tailored to menstruation and menopause, dedicated breastfeeding areas, free sanitary products, baby changing areas together with an enhanced pregnancy and postpartum deferral policies for the London Marathon;

✨ Creation of extensive campaigns focussing on inspiring activity in women, particularly Celebrate You with major female influencers and in collaboration with organisations such as This Woman Runs, Women’s Running and other groups
Schools programmes that focus on equity for girls.

It's fantastic to have them on board and look forward to sharing more of their trailblazing work! Together, we’re building a future where women and girls thrive in sport. 💪

09/12/2024

For three decades, we’ve led the way in driving change, fostering collaboration, and championing the visibility of women and girls in sport.

And tomorrow, we mark this incredible milestone at our Pearl Anniversary Dinner generously hosted by the City of London, where we will be joined by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, with a keynote from Getty Images on their vital work to close the visibility gap through authentic representation of women and girls - and together with an extraordinary gathering of leaders, athletes, and changemakers from across the world of women’s sport.

Follow us for exclusive updates, inspiring moments, and highlights as we celebrate 30 years of impact and look ahead to the future!

21/11/2024

What a day we had on Tuesday!

Our friends at Women in Sport hosted a truly fantastic 40th Anniversary Conference attended by Lisa O’Keefe and Annamarie Phelps on the theme of “Because Women and Girls Belong – Joining Forces for the Future”, covering off their four policy priorities of gender budgeting, 50/50 leadership, legislation about misogyny and the call for an Independent Regulator for Sport.

As well as hearing from influential speakers, the conference allowed for rich discussions with a focused call for men and women to stand shoulder to shoulder to consolidate the progress made so far and drive forward greater gender equality.

Lisa O’K represented IWG in a lively panel discussion on the topic of ‘Why are we still here?’, receiving a spontaneous round of applause when she spoke about the urgency for the need to make change and highlighting how “every now and again a programme is created to fix the women, give them opportunities and lift them up, but nobody actually stops and says it's the system that needs fixing.”

Make sure you read their review and keep an eye out for a video wrap-up of the highlights from the day!

https://womeninsport.org/news/women-in-sport-celebrates-40-years-with-landmark-conference-calling-for-a-future-of-equality-in-sport/

18/11/2024

Secretary General Lisa O'Keefe MBE presented at the Northern Ireland Sports Forum Sports Law Conference on Friday, on the topic of ‘Effective international policy developments’. A huge thank you for having us NI Sports Forum, and congratulations on a fantastic event!

13/11/2024

It’s brilliant to see England Netball lead the way with NETBALLHer - an innovative and systemic approach designed to enable more women and girls to thrive 🤩, and we are delighted to have our Secretary General Lisa O’Keefe MBE join their advisory board.

Read more about their work 👇:

07/11/2024

The IWG Women & Sport Secretariat and Global Executive meet at the prestigious Juntendo University in Tokyo, Japan, for the Annual General Meeting 2024 and Strategic Planning Session.

Generously hosted by Dr Etsuko Ogasawara, IWG’s regional representative for Asia, the AGM was an opportunity for the IWG Secretariat to review the 2023 - 24 period, hear about the activities from global regions or networks over the course of the past year, and further discussions around the upcoming Global Summit, taking place in Birmingham in July 2026.

Read more:

Sunday 3 November saw the IWG Secretariat and Global Executive meet at the prestigious Juntendo University in Tokyo, Japan, for the Annual General Meeting 2 ...

07/11/2024

EVENT: Finlands Svenska Idrott is hosting 'Lets Be Better: At welcoming all in sport'. Topics for discussion include equality, integration, inclusion and diversity in sports

Date: 3.12.2024, 10.00-15.00 EET.
Location: Cultural Centre Hanaholmen in Espoo, Finland and live streaming
Costs: Free
Accessibility: Hanasaari’s facilities are well suited for guests with different kinds of disabilities.
Language: The program is in English.
For whom: Management, decision-makers, employees, coaches, and active members of sports organizations. People working with integration/inclusion in society and other interested in the topic are warmly welcome.
Organizer: WELLcome-project
Registration deadline: 25.11.2024

Find out more and register to attend:

An international seminar about leadership, diversity and gender in sport held at Hanaholmen 19th of September from 9 am to 3 pm. The seminar is held in English.

06/11/2024

Congratulations to Women Win and adidas on the success of the Breaking Barriers Project!

The 5-year project is a collaborative effort to 'advance gender equity and inclusion on and off the pitch', and included workshops, community-building, health and menstruation awareness sessions and more.

Read more:

We recently visited the adidas headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany to celebrate the five-year impact of the adidas Breaking Barriers Project! The Breaking…

05/11/2024

It was a pleasure to be invited to the British Ambassador to Japan’s Residence on Monday to explain about the work of the IWG and the activities we had undertaken while we were in Tokyo.

We also took the opportunity to update the Ambassador and her team on The Global Summit in Birmingham 2026 and explored ways in which we could potentially collaborate in the build-up to the event.

We look forward to continuing this discussion over the coming months.

05/11/2024

IrishRugby has appointed Lynne Cantwell to Head of Women's Strategy.

The appointment is a key element of realising the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) plan for rugby in Ireland, which includes a commitment to accelerate the development of the women's game.

Lynne has been working as the High Performance Manager for Women's Rugby in South Africa, and will take up her role at IRFU in January 2025.

Read more:

The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) is today pleased to announce that Lynne Cantwell has been appointed as Head of Women’s Strategy for Irish Rugby. In the plan for Rugby in Ireland, launched in June, the IRFU set out its determination to accelerate the development of the Women’s game and Cant...

04/11/2024

The IWG Women & Sport Secretariat and Global Executive have attended two key events in Japan.

IWG Secretary General Lisa O'Keefe MBE shared perspectives from her career at the Japanese Women Leaders Academy, encompassing executive leadership and board positions within the UK sport sector.

IWG chair Annamarie Phelps CBE OLY delivered a keynote speech at the 女性スポーツ研究センター 　Japanese Center for Research on Women in Sport（JCRWS）10th Anniversary International Symposium.

IWG Global Executive members Dr Etsuko Ogasawara, Carolyn Ngiraidis, Dr Rosaura Mendez and Louisette Renée Thobi were then joined on stage by IWG Secretariat members Lisa O'Keefe MBE and Abby Burton.

Read more:
https://iwgwomenandsport.org/iwg-secretariat-and-global-executive-visit-japan/

02/11/2024

IWG Women & Sport were delighted to contribute to the International Symposium in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the (女性スポーツ研究センター 　Japanese Center for Research on Women in Sport（JCRWS）

IWG Chair Annamarie Phelps CBE OLY delivered a keynote speech on 'Recent Movement of Women in Sport and the 9th IWG Global Summit 2026 in the UK'

IWG Secretary General Lisa O'Keefe MBE chaired a panel discussion with members of the IWG Global Executive members discussing the opportunities and areas of focus for each region or network they represent.

Find out more about the IWG Women and Sport strategy:
https://iwgwomenandsport.org/about/iwg-strategic-plan/

02/11/2024

IWG Women & Sport Secretary General Lisa O'Keefe MBE is looking forward to being a mentor on the ICC - International Cricket Council 100% Cricket Future Leaders Programme.

"It's a superb programme investing in the future leaders of the sport," she comments, "and I'm sure I'll get just as much out of it as the mentees."

Read more:

31 October, 2024ICC announces lineup of mentees as Future Leaders Programme for administrators launches in Dubai 15 Mentees have been selected for the latest edition designed for cricket administrators Programme began with Dubai workshop from 20 October Cohort will benefit from a prominent panel of....

02/11/2024

Wise words indeed!

As women and girls continue to drop out of sports at a statistically higher rate than their male peers, it’s crucial that we work together to foster a more inclusive sport community for all!

Swimming superstar and 13-time Paralympic medallist Aurélie Rivard, hopes that, in some way, her success on the world stage will inspire more women to stay engaged in sport!

30/10/2024

IWG Women & Sport is delighted to welcome USRowing to the IWG Global Network, as the latest signatories of the Brighton Plus Helsinki Declaration, bolstering their commitment to improving gender equality as part of their comprehensive DEI plan.

USRowing’s United We Row initiative focuses on supporting rowing programs, coaches, athletes, and anyone interested in advancing the sport of rowing to diversify and grow their programs. This past year, United We Row awarded seven grants to rowing programs across the country who are working to make rowing more accessible to their community. The United We Row scholarships break down financial barriers so rowers, coxswains, and coaches can pursue their goals on the water.

Find out more:

USRowing, the national governing body for rowing in the United States, has become the latest signatory of the IWG’s Brighton plus Helsinki Declaration, bols ...

30/10/2024

The National Park and Recreation Association (NRPA) in the US has partnered with Nike to boost gender equity in sport.

Investment from Nike will enable the NRPA to conduct nationwide gender equity research, provide professional development opportunities and highlight the stories of women and girls.

National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) has teamed up with Nike to address and boost gender equity in youth sports, especially girls.

29/10/2024

Applications are now open for the Oceania Rise Rugby Women's Governance and Mentoring Programme.

Funded by PacificAus Sports, this programme provides professional and personal development opportunities to support women in leadership in Rugby.

Application deadline: 5PM AEST 8th November 2024
Eligibility: This programme is open to women in Oceania who fulfil one or more of the following:-
- Hold a position on a rugby board, committee, or sub-committee (national, provincial, or club level);
- Hold a full-time role in a rugby organisation (national, provincial, or club level);
- Aspire to hold a position on a rugby board, committee, or sub-committee and have potential to do so within the next three years.

And also are available to attend course sessions on the dates provided, and agree to contribute to the Oceania Women in Rugby Network upon completion of the programme.

Find out more and apply:
https://oceania.rugby/the-game/womens-rugby-oceania-rise-rugby-women%E2%80%99s-governance-and-mentoring-programme-summer-2024-progamme-overview

World Rugby Oceania Rugby

The Oceania Rise Rugby Women’s Governance and Mentoring Programme has been designed to provide high-quality and tailored governance content specific to women in rugby leadership across Oceania. Between 2023-2024, three cohorts of up to 24 women (total of up to 72 women) will be engaged in this reg...