The Experiences of Elite Athletes During Pregnancy

Highlights from: Pushing for change: a qualitative study of the experiencesof elite athletes during pregnancy. Athletes train and compete at the elite level during their reproductiveyears, yet sport policies that support pregnant athletes are lacking. Female athletes say they must ‘make the tough decision’ betweenbeing a mother or an elite athlete in a system that […]

Gender Equity in Coaching

By accessing this page, sport leaders will be able to utilize the Gender Equity in Coaching Framework and Self-Assessment tool to improve conditions for women in coaching by identifying the factors that can be changed within your organization.  Where are we now? Current coaching data indicates that women are under-represented as coaches both nationally and internationally. The Coaching Association of Canada reported that of individuals who identified taking a National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) […]

Using Gender Equity as a Tool to Combat Gender-Based Violence in Sport

What is gender-based violence?  Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is “Violence that is committed against someone based on their gender identity, gender expression or perceived gender” and can include sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abused, neglect, discrimination or harassment.  Canadian Women & Sport has partnered with E-Alliance to understand the relationship between gender equity and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in sport. Although research has not investigated […]

Maximizing the Impact of Gender Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Training

The Gender Equity LENS is an e-Learning module designed to help sport leaders apply a gender lens in their day-to-day decisions. Trainings like these are a vital first step to affecting change. But like many of us, your learning may come to an end when the training ends. Instead, EAT your learning:  Extend, Apply, and […]

Best practices for organizations

Same Game: A Step-By-Step Toolkit to Bring Your Gender Equity Vision to Life

The Need: While organizations have much to gain by committing themselves to achieving gender equity, the work it takes to get there can be daunting. Many organizations struggle to understand their gender equity gaps and identify the root causes. Some may lack clarity and confidence in what to prioritize and what steps to take to […]

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What is intersectionality?

Intersectionality is a concept that can help policy makers and sport programmers understand how different types of discrimination – like racism, homophobia, and ableism – combine to prevent some women and girls from participating in sport.  Intersectionality is important in advancing gender equity in sport because one solution may not work for ALL women and girls.  If […]

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What is unconscious bias?

Our brains group people based on things we know or assume about them, like age, gender, skin colour, income, ability or education. Our brains use these groupings to make judgements without us even knowing it. This is called unconscious bias. Unconscious bias is not right.  It’s wrong.  It just is!  But, if we don’t intentionally identify our unconscious bias, we […]

Best practices for organizations

What is Gender Equity?

We strongly believe that gender equity builds better sport!  It helps support participation in all areas, leading to more compelling offerings, a larger pool of participants, and a stronger organization. As we look to advance gender equity in sport, we first need to understand what exactly that means.  While it may seem like a typo, […]

Best practices for organizations

Gender Equity Policy Template

Having a gender equity policy shows a commitment to gender equity. Currently, few organizations have such a policy. Of those that do, the policies are limited in terms of information on specific actions, complaint procedures, and appeal processes. The gender equity policy template and implementation guide provided will help you develop a customized gender equity […]

Best practices for organizations

How to Apply A Gender LENS to Decision Making

When you make decisions using a gender lens, you help to create the conditions for inclusion of girls and women. And greater inclusion makes sport better for ALL involved. Put simply, using a gender lens means accounting for the different ways that different genders might experience the results of your decision. Backed by relevant evidence, […]