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. 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 its European Sports Charter.

From March 2023 to February 2025, the Council of Europe’s Sport Division advanced on this crucial work through the joint EU–CoE project “All In Plus: promoting greater gender equality in sport”. All In Plus placed a specific focus on issues linked to the representation of women in sport, collating data relating to women’s participation in sports across a range of European jurisdictions and across a range of sports as well as providing key insights into actions promoting gender equality in sport. All In Plus research relating to gender equality in sports participation found that just over one third (35%) of all under 18 members in sports clubs and federations were girls, and less than one third (27%) of all over 18 members were women. Moreover, among elite athletes in the 21 jurisdictions, just over a third were women. Among different sports, those with the highest proportion of girls ranged from 40% to 66%, whereas those with the lowest proportion of women ranged from 2% to 6%. Among women, the highest proportions drastically reduced, ranging from 25% to 40%, whereas the lowest proportions ranged from 3% to 8%. All of the project findings and deliverables including 21 factsheets, the analytical report including a series of recommendations, the online library of best practice examples, videos and much more can be accessed here.

In the EPAS Strategy 2026-2027, gender equality in sport remains a key tenet of the first Strategic Objective: ‘Envisioning sport which is accessible for all’. EPAS will achieve this strategic goal in the field of gender equality and sport by following up on the Recommendations arising from the All In Plus EU–CoE joint project, organising the annual Breakfast Roundtables on International Women’s Day, supporting the Governing Board and Consultative Committee Gender Equality Rapporteurs’ work, working on transversal gender mainstreaming with the Council of Europe’s Gender Equality Division, and finally collaborating with bodies working in these areas, in particular the International Working Group on Women & Sport, UNESCO, and the Global Observatory on Gender Equality and Sport. 

Structure

During the first part of the event, international experts and guests delivered presentations providing key insights and research into the issue of women and girls' participation in sport, in particular the removal of barriers to access. The second part focused on initiatives that have been put in place to ensure equal participation for women and girls in sport, providing best practice examples for sports associations and member states. The third and final part was a panel discussion on how to improve access to women and girls' participation in sport.