Female Empowerment

The representation and involvement of women in sport have historically been significantly lower than for men – an issue that the IOC is working hard to address, as highlighted in this film.

The Tokyo 2020 Games were the most gender balanced to date, with women accounting for 48 per cent of the athletes.

Efforts were also made by Olympic Broadcasting Services to provide a better balance of women’s sport than in the past, including in prime-time slots.

Mixed gender events and an increase in the number of women in leadership roles offered further opportunities for empowering women through sport.

More information

IOC Gender Equality and Inclusion Report 2021

Outlining the progress made in advancing gender equality and inclusion in the last Olympiad, this report reviews the implementation of Olympic Agenda 2020 Recommendation 11 and the IOC Gender Equality Review Project and presents the IOC’s objectives for 2021-2024, which cover the IOC’s three spheres of responsibility (IOC as an organisation, as owner of the Olympic Games and as leader of the Olympic Movement) across five focus areas: participation, leadership, safe sport, portrayal and resource allocation.

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Portrayal guidelines

Sports coverage is very influential in shaping gender norms and stereotypes. These guidelines are intended to raise awareness of what constitutes gender bias across the various aspects of portrayal within the sporting context, and how this can be overcome to ensure our content and communications are more inclusive, balanced and representative of the world we live in.

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More Tokyo stories

Volunteers

The volunteers are the driving force of the Olympic Games, working tirelessly to make them a success, showing incredible dedication and warmth. In this film, we hear the stories of Japanese volunteers Hiro Takeushui and Atsuko Limura, who helped at both the Olympic Games Tokyo 1964 and Tokyo 2020. They demonstrate how the experience of volunteering can change lives.

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Skateboarding

Following skateboarding’s debut on the Olympic programme at Tokyo 2020, skateboard sales soared and skate parks saw unprecedented numbers of people having a go – especially girls. This film captures the hopes of those within the skateboarding community for the growth of their sport.

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Olympic Agora

Since the early Olympic Games, sport and culture have been closely linked. Tokyo 2020 saw the creation of the first Olympic Agora – a meeting place for sport, art and culture. This film explains the background and the benefits of this vibrant public space, which has left artworks for the community to enjoy for years to come.

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Inclusion and Diversity

By giving visibility to the largest number of publicly “out” athletes in Olympic history, the Tokyo 2020 Games positively shifted the mindset and behaviours towards the LGBTQ+ community. We hear from rower Emma Twigg (NZL) and triathlete Chris Mosier (USA) about their drive to inspire others.

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OBS Broadcast Training Programme

The Broadcast Training Programme (BTP) offered local university students the opportunity to learn from the best in the business at the largest broadcasting event in the world. We meet some of the Japanese participants for Tokyo 2020, alongside those delivering the programme. Together, they shine a light on a truly life-changing experience.

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