World Athletics has unveiled its ambitious Gender Leadership Strategy 2025–2027, aimed at accelerating inclusion and female empowerment at all levels of global athletics. The initiative serves as a roadmap to reinforce the representation of women in leadership roles, seeking to build a more equitable, inclusive and representative sport.
The three-year plan aims to continue the work initiated in 2017 with the creation of the Gender Leadership Taskforce and builds on the progress already achieved, such as the gender parity reached in the World Athletics Council in 2023, a milestone that made athletics the first Olympic sport to reach such a balance. With this new strategy, the organization seeks to turn those early achievements into a long-term structural and sustainable change.
Concrete goals for a global transformation
The strategy sets specific targets to increase female participation among administrators, referees, and coaches. On the leadership side, the goal is to reach at least 40% women on the executive boards of member federations by 2029, starting from the current mandatory minimum of 20%. Regarding refereeing, the plan aims to ensure that women represent at least 40% of those taking the certification exams of World Athletics by 2027. In terms of coaching, the goal is for women to make up 40% of participants in level 1 courses and 30% in level 2 courses by the same year.
In addition, World Athletics is committed to ensuring gender equity in its major events: it aims for a 50/50 balance in International Technical Officials (ITOs) for the Beijing 2027 World Championships and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, and to increase the presence of female team coaches to 40% at the 2030 U20 World Championships. The strategy also proposes to strengthen regulatory frameworks, promote awareness campaigns, and develop educational programs focused on female leadership, aligned with the World Plan for Athletics. “We don’t just want women to be present; we want them to lead as well,” emphasized Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics.
