Despite proven benefits of gender diversity, there is a conspicuous deficit of women in c-suite roles in sports compared to their male counterparts. As indicated in the 2003 Rwandan constitution, amended in 2015, the country declared and committed to “equality between men and women” and decreed women should hold at least 30 percent of parliamentary seats. Rwandan women are leaders not only in government but in business and in all sectors of society and the economy. But why is the sports sector lagging behind? Existing figures from the Rwanda National Olympic Committee (RNOSC) indicate that, of 35 member Sports Federations, only two are headed by women, representing 5.7 per cent. To understand the situation, Weekend Sport spoke to a number of respondents, dominated by women leading in the sports sector, and discussed the obstacles that hinders women in sports leadership, the gap between men and women and how gender equality can be achieved in the sector. Pamela Girimbabazi, President, Rwanda Swimming Federation (RSF) When you look at the numbers of men and women decision-making positions in the sports sector, there is still a big difference unlike in other sectors. In recent years, the numbers have increased but there is still a visible gap in almost all disciplines. I can say that there is no gender equality in sports in Rwanda either in athletes, coaches, referees or in sports federations. A lot hinders women's engagement in sports especially when it comes to running for top leadership positions. The main reason is that women have this culture of not engaging themselves to new challenges and, as you see, the sports industry is among fundamental aspects of development. Sonia Uwimana, Women representative, Rwanda Cricket Association (RCA) There is an imbalance between men and women in sports which is caused by lack of confidence. The main barrier is the lack of self-confidence of some women who think they can’t make it or compete in sports. We have to build hope and confidence in young girls because they are the ones holding the future of Rwandan women in sports. Naturally, women are able to do almost everything that a man can do, so I don’t think they can fail in sports when they can do it in other careers. Ruth Rigoga, female sports journalist The only thing that can make a difference is change of mindset because, till now, some young girls and women don’t prioritize sports but when you look at where we came from, things are getting better day after day. In different elections, you find women not preferring to run for decision-making positions. Maybe the shortage of women in the sports sector can be another factor but that is something which must change as well. Jean Baptiste Murema, President, National Paralympic Committee In Paralympic sports, like elsewhere in sports, women are still behind because of illiteracy and poor mindset of women. Being left behind in some leadership positions is sometimes a result of illiteracy or lack of required sports managerial skills. Young girls and Women in general should believe in themselves that they can do all things like men can but when you compare the past days and the present you can see there has been an improvement. Alice Umulinga, President, RNOSC Rwanda has been leading on women empowerment but when it comes to women in the sports sector, we still have a long way to go. I can say that we all have equal access to various opportunities available in the sport industry. We need to keep empowering fellow women and challenge them to have what it takes to take up top managerial positions in sports.
