Background

Gender equality has been one of the central themes of the Council of Europe’s work in the field of sport for over a decade. In 2015, EPAS was instrumental in the preparation of Recommendation CM/Rec(2015)2 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on gender mainstreaming in sport. The Council of Europe has been promoting a number of initiatives, seeking to contribute to improving gender equality in sport, and these efforts are firmly enshrined in the European Sports Charter.

From March 2018 to October 2019, the European Union (EU) and the Council of Europe (CoE) ran the joint project “ALL IN: Towards gender balance in sport”, aiming to provide support to public authorities and sport organisations in the development and implementation of policies and programmes addressing gender inequalities in sport as well as in the adoption of a gender mainstreaming strategy. As part of the project, EPAS assessed the state of play regarding gender equality in 17 countries across 6 indicators (leadership, coaching, participation, gender-based violence, media/communication and gender mainstreaming), subsequently producing a best practice toolkit and setting up an online library amongst other outcomes.

From March 2023 to March 2025, the Council of Europe’s Sport Division is advancing on this crucial work through the joint EU-CoE project “All In Plus: promoting greater gender equality in sport”. To further enhance the findings of the first data collection campaign, the project will fine-tune the data indicators and expand the list of participating countries. It will also have a new dimension on sport officiating, and work closely with experts from a range of institutional, academic and grassroots backgrounds to ensure a profound impact on gender equality in the sports sector, including in this area.
 

Structure

The Breakfast Roundtable on Sport officiating and gender equality will consist of two parts. During the first part, international experts and guests will deliver presentations about initiatives in place to combat discrimination against female referees and a number of referees will share their experiences in this area. An informal coffee table discussion will follow, bringing together a range of panellists, who will address the steps that could be taken to combat discrimination against female officiators in the future.