‘Momentous decision’

“It’s a momentous decision, one that will encourage a lot of women to get into sports,” boxing legend Mary Kom, who won the bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics, told The Indian Express. “The current generation will get opportunities we didn’t get. I wish I was competing right now just so that I didn’t have to wait for so long to compete at the Olympics.”

Mary, a women’s boxing pioneer who won five World Championships between 2002 and 2010, had to wait till 2012 to compete at the Olympics. Until then, women boxers were not invited to the biggest sporting party. And even after their inclusion, only three categories were approved for women as opposed to 10 for men.

But the addition of women’s boxing to the 2012 programme ensured the first big step towards gender parity was taken. It meant that women, after first competing in 1900, finally were able to vie for a medal in every event at the Olympics.

Twelve years later, another landmark was achieved at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which saw an equal number of events for both genders for the first time. If Paris marked the culmination of a 128-year battle for equality, Los Angeles would go a step further and have 50.5 percent women representation.

At Paris, India fielded 45 women in a contingent of 110. The number is likely to increase in LA if the women’s hockey and cricket teams qualify.

The IOC’s sports director Kit McConnell said ‘every single one of those decisions was merit based.’ “All of these decisions are supported by numbers. The ticket demand — the incredible success of Paris across all venues including every single session focussed on women sports. We have seen the broadcast numbers of women’s sport being absolutely equal if not even stronger and we’ve seen the media coverage increase exponentially. All reflective of participation and popularity,” McConnell said.

Interestingly, most professional sports, which ironically also form the core Olympic disciplines, cite the same points – ticket demand and broadcast numbers – as reasons for not being able to strike gender parity in their own events. Stories of unequal pay, discrimination and lack of opportunities are rife across sports, including football, tennis and cricket.

Yet, the symbolism in the IOC’s decision is hard to miss, especially in relation to football.

The US is where one of the biggest and landmark gender equality battles took place. The USA women’s football team dragged the country’s federation to courts over equal pay and rights. In 2022, after six years of legal wrangling, they finally reached a landmark agreement where their demands were met.

The US is also where women’s football was introduced in the Olympics programme, back in 1996. The hosts went on to win the gold medal, the first of their record five titles, including the top-of-the-podium finish at Paris 2024. Come 2028, the Stars and Stripes will headline the largest ever women’s Olympic competition.

The IOC acknowledged the increasing popularity of women’s sport, especially the US women’s football team. “We wanted to do something to reflect that growth and equally with the United States being the home of the highest level of popularity of women’s football,” McConnell said.

He added that the decision will also lead to an increase in overall participants as more teams will compete for the additional spots.

“We have seen the incredible growth of women’s team sports around the world — women’s football being a leader in that regard,” McConnell said. “For every single one of those quota places in the Olympic Games, there’s a number of countries that are investing in women’s sports to chase that qualification. So when we add two teams in water polo, it’s not just further investments in two countries… four women’s football teams, that’s not just another four countries that are chasing those places.”