The Working Group on Equality in Sport is proposing that sports federations and public benefit organizations ensure “adequate proportionality” in the allowances and prizes awarded to male and female athletes, according to a report presented this Tuesday.
The recommendation aims to match or at least approximate the values distributed or awarded by representation in national teams by men and women, as well as the prizes awarded in sports competitions organized by entities of public utility or with a profession on public funding, paving the way for an agreement such as already exists in several other countries.
The measure was one of those presented today in Alfândega do Porto in the final report of the Working Group on Equality Policy in Sport, the creation of which was approved by the government on August 4, 2022, with the coordination of Leila Marques, Deputy president of the Portuguese Paralympic Committee (CPP).
Subordinate to the seventh thematic area of the group’s recommendations, participation, the aim is to “ensure proportionality in the allocation of financial compensation”, proposing two proposals for action.
The first concerns “ensuring adequate proportionality in the value of prizes awarded to athletes in sporting events organized by public utility entities and with public funding”.
The second is based on the same idea, but regarding the “value of reward or compensation for athletes representing national teams” by federations that have sporting public benefit status.
The list of implementing bodies includes the national government, municipalities, sports associations and event organizers in this area, with 2023 to 2026 as the implementation period.
The issue of equal pay for men and women in top sport, and in football in particular, has been discussed for many years in most countries, particularly in the representation of football teams, and is increasingly being agreed upon..
In 2023, Wales agreed to match payments to whoever represents their national team, as is already happening with England and Scotland, after a battle that has become emblematic on the side of the US women’s national team, which has lasted six years, and other agreements which were closed in Spain, Brazil, Australia and Norway, among others.
The working group was set up last year on behalf of the State Secretariats for Equality and Migration and for Youth and Sport, with representatives from both.
Added members of the Citizenship and Gender Equality Commission (CIG), the Portuguese Olympic Committee and the CPP, alongside Leila Marques, as well as the Portuguese Institute of Sport and Youth (IPDJ), the Portuguese Federation of Sports (CDP) and the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) .
In total, the group has met five times, in addition to holding hearings and meetings with various international bodies related to sport and gender equality, with a mission to “present public policy contributions and recommendations” in this area.
Supporting performance mothers in proposals for gender equality in sport
Supporting the motherhood of top athletes and increasing the number of women in management positions are some of the proposals of a government working group for equality in sport.
A total of 15 objectives with recommendations are included in the final report of the Equality in Sport Policy Group.
One of the measures referred to therein, addressed to the Government and the Assembly of the Republic, concerns guaranteed compensation for top athletes during pregnancy and 120 days of maternity leave.
Another initiative to protect these practitioners is the introduction of “a financial grant of 100% after the end of the 120 days of maternity leave” for the recovery of physical fitness to levels inherent in high performance, which is between this years and 2025 must be guaranteed.
The report points out how aging dramatically increases the likelihood that women will not engage in physical activity or sport, according to the latest barometer on the subject, from 2022, especially between the ages of 25 and 39, which the group says indicates “an increased difficulty in reconciling private, family and professional life”, making “the obstacles women face more visible”.
Also note the proposal to “create a funding line of at least 10% of public financial support for specific and exclusive projects promoting the sport practiced by women”, by the government, the Portuguese Institute for Sport and Youth (IPDJ) and municipalities, as implementing entities.
Similarly, between 2023 and 2029, the state should seek to increase the percentage of women in athletic training, proposing that attendance at Grade I coaching courses be free for women, in addition to at least one-third reserve vacancies in each grade, and in IV, the latter, only 2.2% of title holders are female, against 17.7% in the former.
Sports clubs and federations with more than 10 registered coaches must have a share of up to 20% women in these registrations, and from 2029 33.3%.
Several targets aim to increase the access and participation of women in various positions, from the role of coaches to the occupation of seats in governing bodies, which should be no less than 20% in any entity related to sport from 2024, and increase to 40% in 2029, with a value of no less than one third in 2025 in the boards and supervisory bodies of sports companies.
As for management positions in public entities related to sports, the number of people of each gender should exceed 40% by 2026.
a organization of mixed sports competitions, national campaigns to combat gender stereotypes and sexism, creation of a prize related to gender equality, increased participation of women in sports media, with training proposals for journalists, good practice guides, all feature in the document.
Sealing gender equality in sport for private entities, strengthening commitment to school sport, including for arbitration and leadership, creating more mechanisms for denouncing situations of violence, awareness raising campaigns and drawing up codes of conduct are other issues that need to be addressed. have been put in order.
In the field of municipalities, the topic should be included in the list of indicators for equality policy at local level and in the municipal plans for equality and non-discrimination, it is proposed.
The working group was set up last year on behalf of the State Secretariats for Equality and Migration and for Youth and Sport, with representatives from both.
Added members from the Citizenship and Gender Equality Commission (CIG), the Portuguese Olympic Committee and the CPP, alongside Leila Marques, as well as the IPDJ, the Portuguese Sports Federation (CDP) and the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF).
In total, the group has met five times, in addition to holding hearings and meetings with various international bodies related to sport and gender equality, with a mission to “present public policy contributions and recommendations” in this area.
In addition to the recommendations, the document includes a diagnosis based on data that places Portugal as “the most inactive country in Europe,” according to the Eurobarometer, with a decline in regular sports practice that drops drastically from the age of 25, with people and women moving away of leadership positions, coaches and also in federated practice and at the highest level.
On a federal level, women make up one-third of Olympic sports members, and the value drops even more for people with disabilities.
Source: DN
