S.i talk a lot about gender equality in sport since this world, until recently “populated” mostly by men, has begun to find itself too much often in the spotlight accused of discriminating against women with intolerable behaviors.
And if very often the most cited sport is football, there is a great need for equality in many other disciplines, not at all exempt from injustices, a term that even comes to include real harassment.
The wind of parity creeps into the sail
Among these there is certainly sailing where, however, something is changing. Just think that the America’s Cupwhere women are currently zero, from 2024 it will have women’s circuits thanks to a new regulation recently drawn up. And that the number of woman skipper participating in major international sporting events is constantly growing.
Even in the world of sailing, great strides are being made towards gender equality
The games have just begun
But, with all the hopes that the journey will proceed quickly, it is clear that the “games” have just begun. Also because only in 2019 the study Women in Sailingwritten by World Sailing Trust, noted inconvenience to the detriment of the athletes not indifferent.
From reduced wages to harassment
Isolationlow consideration in terms of skills, reduction of opportunities, reduced feeslack of support e harassment they were part of a package of discrimination against women professionals, which to date, despite the great declarations, have not yet completely disappeared.
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The Sailing Federation changes the regulations
The report however led the International Sailing Federation to take a clear position by asking for the immediate regulatory change of some obsolete regulations which were discriminatory.
Furthermore, sailing was the first Olympic sport to join the UN Women Sport for Generation Equality Declarationaimed at eliminating gender discrimination in sport.
The sailors are exceptions
Fortunately, in the world of sailing there are champions who have distinguished themselves.
Among these certainly Australian skipper Wendy Tuck which, for the first time, in 2018, won a round-the-world regatta and five all-women teams completed the world tour of the Volvo Ocean Race (now called simply the ocean race).
The last American sailor a winning an Olympic gold medal was a womanin 2008, and the women also hoisted the America’s Cup. Dawn Riley did this in 1992 and is now the head of one of the leading high performance sailing training centers in the United States.
And Cory Sertl is president of US Sailing, the national governing body, and vice president of World Sailing, the international governing body.
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