Representation of female leadership at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games

Abstract

The issue of gender equality holds significant relevance in the contemporary world. Despite the substantial progress made in anti-discrimination legislation and women's rights movements, it is disheartening to observe the persisting gender disparities in the sports environment. Even though there have been some groundbreaking studies on sports, achieving gender parity in leadership positions remains a challenging task. Thus, this study aimed to identify if the leadership occupations of Team Brazil at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were balanced, considering the variable gender of the individuals who participated in the event. The research method utilized for this project was content analysis. This method systematically evaluates public information to classify and quantify data into various categories. Official information was obtained from the Brazilian Olympic Committee to assess gender representativeness in the positions of coaches and team leaders. The results revealed that Brazil participated in 35 sports disciplines, with 302 athletes, 141 women (46.7%) and 161 men (53.3%), 82 coaches, four women (4.9%) and 78 men (95.1%), and 39 team leaders, nine women (23.1%) and 30 men (76.9%). This study revealed that both male and female athletes were equally represented in the competition, but there was a significant gender imbalance among coaches and team leaders. These findings are consistent with similar studies conducted in other countries, and are indicative of a broader trend. While there are several plausible explanations for this, it is imperative that we continue to track the involvement of women in leadership positions to ensure progress towards gender equality. In order to promote gender equality, it is essential to provide accurate and comprehensive official information.