Monday, 13 June 2022

CONI and UniTrento together for gender balance in sport

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The two signed today a Memorandum of Understanding today to promote gender equality in decision-making positions and sport management. The president of the Trento division of CONI: "Our goal is to involve sportswomen so that they take on management posts and help change the mentality little by little". The University is engaged in research activities and awareness-raising initiatives on the subject

There are almost 18 million women who play sports in Italy and their number is constantly growing. However, only 28% of the 4,708,741 athletes who are members of the various federations are women. And they are even fewer in the governance bodies: female coaches are only 19.8%, female executives are 15.4%, and Federation executives 12.4% (Censis data, 2019). Therefore, there is still a lot to do for gender equality in sport. This was also underlined by Minister Elena Bonetti in the meeting that took place last February in Rome with the national and provincial heads of CONI and representatives of the University of Trento.

The Trento division of CONI and the University of Trento have decided to work together on this issue and today, at Palazzo Sardagna, have signed a memorandum of understanding to adopt specific measures for a better gender balance in the sport sector. The two-year agreement will focus in particular on gender equality in decision-making positions and sports management, through research, training and dissemination activities.

Paola Mora, president of the Trento division of CONI, and first and currently only woman in Italy to hold that position, is well aware of the fact that gender imbalance in sport is a tangible reality. "At first, I was surprised by being the only woman holding this position. There are many sportswomen and athletes in Italy, so I took it for granted that there had been others before me. But I was wrong. The problem, however, is structural. We have many high-level women athletes who obviously dedicate themselves to their sport and first of all to their performance. They hardly ever have the time, focus and skills to compete for management positions. Potentially, the new management could instead draw on the passion and commitment of many female athletes. Unfortunately, women tend to give up sports before their men.

And, above all, there is a general situation that involves, as in other sectors, the mentality and the organisation. The world of sport today does not encourage the active participation of women in decision-making roles. We would like to  reverse the trend, to promote the value of gender balance also in sport".

"Equality is one of the values that define the University of Trento. That is why we are open to support initiatives that aim to promote a culture of justice, openness and enhancement of equal opportunities inside the University and outside it. These initiatives are particularly successful when they are an instrument to strengthen the relationship with society and the business sector at the local level", commented Rector Flavio Deflorian. "With this agreement we begin an important collaboration with CONI that will give us the opportunity to develop a number of research projects and actions that aim to achieve equality and promote equal opportunities in sport. A sector, like many others, where there is still a gender imbalance that we can no longer ignore".

"The University of Trento – added Barbara Poggio, vice rector for equity and diversity policies – makes its expertise in gender studies available to CONI to analyze the data on gender distribution in the Italian sport sector,  and particularly in executive posts. We can also help identify actions and policies aimed at promoting a greater presence of women in decision-making roles. This initiative is even more important in view of the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games of Milan and Cortina 2026 and of the international engagement for a greater gender balance". In this regard, the Rector's delegate for Sport, Paolo Bouquet, was also present at today's meeting to give an update on the collaboration with CONI and the various local actors for the event.

About the agreement - CONI Trento will contribute to the achievement of the objectives contained in the agreement through its Regional School of Sport, which provides information and training on various issues related to the sports sector. For its part, the University will continue to promote sport in the university community, for the benefits of physical activity and the positive impact of sport on education.
The agreement includes the organisation of training initiatives for heads of staff and awareness raising events, and dissemination activities to give visibility to research studies on gender balance in sport.