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IWG’s Secretary General Lisa O’Keefe has today been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours List. Lisa has been honoured with an MBE in recognition of her services to sport as Executive Director of Insight at Sport England, a role she held from 2013 to 2022. During her time, Lisa transformed the approach to research and insight and played an integral role in the development and delivery of Sport England’s award-winning ‘This Girl Can’ campaign. Being awarded an MBE is a fit

On the eve of the UEFA Men’s Euro 2024 football, IWG Secretary General Lisa O’Keefe shares her views on why more men are needed in the fight for gender equality within sport. What can men do to help further equality in sport? What tools are at their disposal? And why should they get involved? As we head into an amazing summer of sport and I notice more trailers, adverts and analysis of what’s to come, I am reminded how sport firmly sits at the heart of most cultures, reaching

The International Working Group (IWG) on Women and Sport is pleased to announce World Rowing has signed the Brighton plus Helsinki Declaration, becoming the latest International Federation to signify their commitment to gender equality. The Brighton Plus Helsinki Declaration was created in 1994 and consists of 10 Principles  which form an international treaty to support organisations in developing a culture that enables and values women within sport. The Declaration was sign

The International Working Group (IWG) on Women and Sport is delighted to announce the 18 recipients of the Anita White Fund, which aims to support female leaders in sport around the world. The Anita White Fund is a legacy of the Anita White Foundation and consists of two sets of awards – The Anita White Catalyst Grant and The Cath Sweet Award – established to honour Dr Anita White OBE and the late Cath Sweet, two leading figures in the women and sport movement who collaborate

May is a special month for the International Working Group (IWG) on Women and Sport as it begins its Pearl Anniversary celebrations on Tuesday 7th May. Marking 30 years since its establishment in Brighton, the IWG will host a series of events to commemorate being the world’s largest network dedicated to advancing gender equality in sport and physical activity since its inception in 1994. Alongside a new logo to acknowledge the 30 years and a free e-book written by Professor

The IWG Secretariat travelled to Brussels, Belgium, on 18th April to attend the European Summit on Gender Equality and Diversity in Sport. The event was hosted by the European Non-Governmental Sport Organisation (ENGSO) and its Equality Within Sport (EWS) Committee. The meeting gathered stakeholders actively working on gender equality in sport across Europe, with the express intention of identifying opportunities to work together and increase our collective impact. Lisa O’Kee

The IWG is delighted to share that “The International Working Group on Women and Sport 1994-2024: The Challenge of Change” is now available to download for free as an e-book, or to purchase . Written by Professor Elizabeth Pike , Research Lead at IWG and Professor of Sport, Health and Exercise at the University of Hertfordshire, the book comprehensively evaluates the role of the IWG in influencing global and domestic policy and practice across its first three decades. The bo

The IWG UK Secretariat spent the week at the SportAccord World Sport and Business Summit, which took place at the ICC in Birmingham, UK, earlier this week. Secretary General Lisa O’Keefe and Chair Annamarie Phelps CBE OLY were in attendance at the event, which enables global business leaders and host cities to connect with International Federations and their stakeholders. Attendance at SportAccord presented the IWG with an invaluable opportunity to create awareness of the n

Annamarie Phelps CBE OLY, Chair of the IWG UK Secretariat, was invited to speak at FISU’s (International University Sports Federation) Gender Equality Webinar on Monday, presenting to attendees from their Gender Equality Committee, National and Continental University Sports Federations, and FISU Student Ambassadors. Samar Mousa, winner of FISU’s Gender Equality Champion Award, opened the webinar and spoke about leading the development of Palestine’s first women’s soccer team

IWG is delighted to welcome Rupinder Bains to its UK Steering Committee , which serves to support the implementation of the IWG Strategic Plan 2022-2026 while the Secretariat operates from the UK. As a qualified Solicitor, Rupinder has been practising law for over 24 years and is the Managing Director of Pinder Reaux & Associates – a law firm specialising in commercial and civil litigation, media, sports and matrimonial/family law. Amongst her accolades, Rupinder was jointly

Secretary General Lisa O’Keefe took the opportunity to update The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh on the work of the IWG at an event hosted by IWG UK’s host organisation, Sport and Recreation Alliance, as part of their International Women’s Day Celebrations. As the President of the Sport and Recreation Alliance, The Duke of Edinburgh attended the 2024 Sport and Recreation Alliance Community Sport and Recreation Awards with the Duchess, held at Headingley Stadium, Leeds, on Frid

England Golf is delighted to reveal that it has signed the International Working Group (IWG) on Women and Sport’s Brighton plus Helsinki Declaration . The declaration signifies England Golf’s commitment to the equity for women and girls in sport and physical activity, becoming the first golfing body in the UK to do so. The declaration is an international treaty that has become a road map to support ongoing development of a more fair and equitable system of sport and physical

IWG is pleased to announce the publication of our Year One Report, which reflects a successful first year of the UK IWG Secretariat. Highlights from the report We welcomed new signatories to the Brighton Plus Helsinki declaration, each of whom have committed to working towards the principles of the declaration and a world where women and girls thrive in sport and physical activity. New signatories include: International Tennis Federation Lawn Tennis Association Rugby Football

The International Working Group (IWG) on Women and Sport met in San José, Costa Rica on Thursday 7 December for the 2023 Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Global Executive Strategy Session. This was the first AGM led by the UK Secretariat since the IWG moved to the country in 2022 for a four-year period and was generously hosted by Deputy of the Republic and Global Executive Member Rosaura Méndez Gamboa and Donald Rojas Fernandez, President of ICODER (Costa Rican Institute of

This week, the IWG Secretariat is in Costa Rica ahead of the country hosting our 2023 AGM and Global Executive Strategy Session on Thursday this week. Tuesday 4 December started with a visit to the British Embassy for the team, with an opportunity to thank the British Ambassador Benjamin Edward Noel Lyster-Binns for the embassy’s support of IWG’s visit and to explain more about the work of the IWG. This was followed by a visit to ICODER (El Instituto Costarricense del Deporte

On Thursday 30th November 2023, Secretary General Lisa O’Keefe travelled to Kuwait City to speak at the launch of The Safeguarding Alliance ’s ground-breaking women in sport leadership programme. The IWG were proud to support this launch, with Lisa taking to the stage alongside Fatema Hayat, Head of the Women’s Sports – Kuwait to discuss the global challenges in women’s sport and how collaboration can build toward a brighter future. Speaking during the event, Lisa said: “I a

While our Sec Gen Lisa O’Keefe was representing the IWG at the IF Forum in Lausanne , our Chair Annamarie Phelps CBE OLY attended two gender equality events in Madrid. On Monday 13 November, the Equality Within Sport (EWS) Committee from the European Sports NGO (ENGSO) co-ordinated a meeting of European Gender Equality bodies. Attended by representatives from international organisations including Council of Europe’s Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport, International Federatio

IWG Secretary General Lisa O’Keefe was invited to speak at the SportAccord International Federation (IF) Forum in Lausanne, Switzerland earlier this week. Here, she reflects on the opportunity to address the IFs and other key decision makers from the Olympic community. With less than one year to go until the Paris 2024 Olympic Games – the first Games in history to achieve full gender parity amongst athletes – I was invited by colleagues from SportAccord to deliver a keynote

PLEASE NOTE: The Anita White Fund 2024 application window has now closed.  The International Working Group (IWG) on Women and Sport has today launched the Anita White Fund (AWF) to support female leaders in sport around the world, marking the first time financial support has been offered to advance gender equality by the IWG in its 29-year history.  A legacy of the Anita White Foundation, the AWF has been established to honour Dr Anita White OBE and Cath Sweet – two leading f

The Montenegrin Olympic Committee (MOC) has become the latest signatory of the IWG’s Brighton plus Helsinki Declaration, cementing their commitment to creating more opportunities for women and girls to participate in sport at all levels. The Brighton Plus Helsinki Declaration was created in 1994 and consists of 10 Principles  which form an international treaty to support organisations in developing a culture that enables and values women within sport. The Declaration was sign