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Photo Credit: Kate Green for Getty Images The International Working Group (IWG) on Women and Sport last night commemorated its Pearl Anniversary with a celebration at the Guildhall in London, UK, generously hosted by the City of London Corporation. Themed on ‘Visibility and Portrayal of Women and Girls in Sport’, Jacqueline Bourke, Senior Director of Creative from Getty Images, a preeminent global visual content creator and marketplace, delivered the keynote Photo Credit: Kat

Sunday 3 November saw the IWG 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 give a review of the 2023-24 period to the General Executive, while also hearing back from them about the activities from their regions or networks o

USRowing , the national governing body for rowing in the United States, has become the latest signatory of the IWG’s 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 se

Annamarie Phelps CBE OLY, Chair of the IWG UK Secretariat, this week attended the 18th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers Responsible for Sport in Porto, Portugal, delivering the keynote presentation for the focus session on leadership through gender equality in sport: effective strategies and future direction. The conference, organised by the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) in co-operation with the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and the Portuguese Inst

Following a period of review and improvements, IWG is delighted to relaunch the IWG Insight Hub which is designed to empower and advance gender equity and equality for women and girls in sport and physical activity worldwide. The IWG Insight Hub is home to a world-leading collection of research, case studies and toolkits which the IWG’s network has contributed to, providing global insights across the key themes of: Data and Research Methodologies Safeguarding Resources and

The IWG is recruiting for members to join their Summit Organising Committee to help plan and deliver the IWG Global Summit which is taking place in Birmingham, UK, from 9-11 July 2026. The Organising Committee members will be working with the small IWG Secretariat, including an Event Producer, and will lead the design and delivery of specific elements of the scope to support the IWG Team. Chaired by Clare Barrell, Director International Relations and Member Services at Worl

In September 2024 the UIAA (the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation) became a signatory of the Brighton Plus Helsinki Declaration , an “international treaty that has become a road map to support the ongoing development of a more fair and equitable system of sport and physical activity, fully inclusive of women and girls”, developed by the International Working Group (IWG) on Women and Sport. “I am excited and privileged to sign the Brighton plus Helsinki 201

IWG is pleased to welcome Esther Britten MBE to the UK Steering Committee , which serves to support the implementation of the IWG Strategic Plan 2022-2026 while the Secretariat operates from the UK. In her position as the Head of Major Events at UK Sport, Esther has played a key role in the bidding and staging of major international sporting events hosted in the UK over the past decade and, combined with her experience as a former hockey player and umpire, she has also been i

IWG’s Secretary General, Lisa O’Keefe MBE, delivered one of the keynote speeches at the recent 2024 South African Women and Sport Foundation (SAWASF) National Advocacy Conference, which took place in Pretoria, South Africa on 31st August. Joining the conference remotely, Lisa delivered her keynote plenary session on the topic of “The need to identify Change Champions to lead the acceleration of progress in Women and Sport”.  The presentation drew on evidence from members of t

British Water Ski and Wakeboard (BWSW) , the national governing body for the sport, has signed up to the IWG Brighton Plus Helsinki Declaration with the aim of ensuring waterskiing, wakeboarding and all associated disciplines are accessible to everyone. BWSW joins hundreds of other sporting organisations including the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). BWSW is focusing on providing opportunities and additional resources fo

UPDATE: The deadline for the second year of the Women’s Sport Investment Accelerator Programme, from the UK’s Department for Business and Trade, has been extended. The new deadline is 11.45pm on Friday 6th September.  Find out more and apply via the Department for Business and Trade website.  The FA Women’s Super League, England Rugby, England Netball, England and Wales Cricket Board and Volleyball England were among the first participants in the new Women’s Sport Investment

In the week building up to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the IWG attended UNESCO’s ‘Change The Game’ Forum at their headquarters in Paris. The two-day event brought together over 500 policy makers and senior sports leaders from around the world and provided insightful discussions around the transformative power of sport for sustainable development. The Partners’ Forum, held on day one of the event, advocated for and illustrated the social impacts of investments in sport polic

Wednesday 31st July saw the IWG and the British Embassy Paris host a successful ‘Women In Sport’ event during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in conjunction with UK Sport. Over 150 guests were welcomed into the British Ambassador’s Residence, including senior leaders from International Federations and National Governing Bodies, Sports Ministers, athletes and media. Dame Menna Rawlings, His Majesty’s Ambassador to France, opened proceedings by welcoming the guests, highlighting

IWG has today opened the bid process to host the IWG Secretariat and Global Summit 2026-2030 and is inviting interested applicants to submit their Expressions of Interest. Download the IWG Women and Sport Bid Pack To ensure the IWG retains a global perspective and generates visibility and energy for its vision and mission around the world, the Secretariat moves country every four years. Since its inception in the UK back in 1994, the IWG Secretariat and Global Summit has been

On Thursday 18 July, the IWG attended the latest “ASEAN-Japan Actions on Sports: Gender Equality” progress meeting to hear the latest updates from the project. Commissioned by the Japan Sports Agency, led by the International Research Center for Sport and Gender Equality Seijo University (SGE) and in consultation with the ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC), Japan is bringing together 10 of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to promote gender equality through sports. Foc

IWG was honoured to be invited by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), a signatory of the Brighton plus Helsinki Declaration , to take part in their ‘Finding The Leader Within You’ panel discussion during the first week of the All-England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon. UK Steering Group member Clare Barrell represented the IWG on the panel, which also included Sandi Procter, President of the Lawn Tennis Association, and Susie Kenny-Smith, a leadership consult

Gender and Governance Action Platform (2GAP) has become the latest signatory of IWG’s Brighton plus Helsinki Declaration . Launched in 2020, 2GAP represents a collective of almost 90 professional networks from the public and private sectors who are pooling their energies to enable society to move more quickly towards equality, particularly in the field of governance. 2GAP is taking advantage of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games to support women’s engagement in sport

IWG is delighted to announce the appointment of Tarja Krum to the Global Executive , the 12-strong international board which governs the IWG. Tarja, who will take over the European representative role from Sallie Barker, is the Sustainability Manager at ‘Finlands Svenska Idrott’ (the Swedish Sports Federation in Finland), where she leads initiatives focused on equality, safe sports, good governance, the environment and anti-doping. Last month, Tarja was also elected as the Ch

World Netball (WN) and the World Netball Foundation (WN Foundation) have become the latest signatories of the Brighton plus Helsinki Declaration, in their pledge to be true champions of equity for women and girls in sport and physical activity. Developed and established by the International Working Group (IWG) of Women and Sport in 1994, the Brighton Declaration is an international treaty that has become a road map to support the ongoing development of a more fair and equitab

Lisa O’Keefe, Secretary General of IWG, joined a panel discussion at the WiMENA (Women In Middle East North Africa) Women in Sport Conference on the topic of ‘Unlocking Sporting Potential’. The conference, held at Stamford Bridge – the home of Chelsea Football Club, provided a platform for experts from the sports sector from the UK, Middle East and North Africa to highlight their plans and vision for women in sport. The panel, facilitated by Newcastle University’s Director of