Sport is one of the hallmarks of contemporary societies where the number of women who practice sports or closely follow sporting events does not stop increasing.
Actively participate in sporting events and celebrate successes within them, was not available to womenbut progress has been achieved with the outline of a long-distance race, where women have had a great weight when it comes to building from knowledge and vindicationbreaking down numerous barriers, even going so far as to have a specific section within the recently approved Sports Law.
The first lawsuit by a woman was documented through the media. In the 60s Katherine Switzerwith his number 261, “illegally” entered the Boston marathon and, in addition to achieving one of the best times, marked a before and after for the women who claimed their space within the world of sport.
In Spain, the generations of women of the first ADO Plan created for the Olympic Games of Barcelona ’92They took advantage of their moment and have been reaping sporting successes up to the present day, even.
After their brilliant sports careers, the transition to the world of management has not been easybut many of them are inside and provide tools for the development of specific policies and programs that promote gender equality and equal opportunities. On the occasion of 8M They wanted to contribute their point of view for 20 minutes.
Carlota Castrejana, director of the Women’s Sport Institute
“When the leadership that emerges is to lead by example, athletes have to be benchmarks with their ability to influence, for their values and resilience.”
Laura Baza, lawyer specializing in sports law and management
“Visibility is key to attracting that female talent that is being claimed.”
Marta Solano, RTVE journalist
“Let’s give thousands of forgotten women their place in history.”
Isabel Martín, PhD in Information Sciences
“The moral and economic independence of women has been a great achievement: it gives them the freedom to decide.”
Asunción Loriente, President of the Spanish Rowing Federation
“Let’s make our opportunities become realities.”
Beatriz Fernández, former Olympic handball athlete
“We have to promote that girls, young people and adults have more female role models in all professions. Successful and empowered women. It is essential that education, business institutions and the media act as agents of change”.
Mercedes Coghen, former Olympian Hockey athlete
“We women want and are willing to contribute our work, perseverance and responsibility in work teams, management positions and decision-making. But we need the support and conviction of society to access them”.
María López de Eguilaz, former international hockey player
“Looking back, I feel very proud to have been part of a team that sought to break down barriers. We were a group of extraordinary people who did not settle. My mother, despite being called a marichico, always supported me in my decisions.”
Jennifer Miranda, professional international boxer
“We have been fighting for many years to give visibility to women’s sport, putting on shows at the highest level to thus attract the attention of the media and to give us our space. The road has already started, now we have to walk it with the same or more force and for that we need to do it together”.
Jennifer González, ACE secretary and owner of BigDreamers360
“In order to attract more female talent to our sectors, it is essential that they make us visible. If you do not have a speaker to show your experience and teach other women that it is possible to reach these places where we are already, the reach will be much more limited and slow. You can be a great professional, but to be a benchmark and inspire other women, we have to be seen in those places”.
Beatriz Álvarez, president of La Liga Femenina
“We have traveled a difficult path, going from hiding our backpack in fear to go train, to keeping our fears in it. Now we are professionals and the mirror for many women who look to the present and the future with courage to fulfill their dreams”.
Theresa Zabell, former Olympian sailor
“If we have achieved equality as athletes, in terms of participation, now we have to fight to achieve equality in the management, decision-making and direction of the sport.”
Olalla Cernuda, Director of Communication, World Triathlon
“Nobody ever told us that the road would be easy, but we have to keep opening doors so that those who come after us have a finer glass ceiling than ours. Gender equality is not limited to just one area -in my case, sporty – but to a vital attitude. And every step counts”.
Sandra Sánchez, former Olympic karate fighter
“Let nothing and no one stop your inner strength.”
Jennifer Pareja, CEO of ADO
“We have to continue working on the structures, on creating a very strong structure so that women’s sports continue to grow.”
Eli Pinedo, former Olympic handball athlete
“We no longer want to be the first of anything, we want to be one of many.”
Monica Plaza, rally driver
“In motorsport we can fight and we do it face to face and I think it’s very good to talk about equality”
Alejandra Moore Mayorga, Head of Women and Sports, Royal Spanish Aeronautical Federation (RFAE)
“Sports aviation, of which ten disciplines are part, is equal in origin and therefore recognition and respect is part of the DNA of each of our specialties. This diversity of disciplines and categories offers opportunities for young to senior talent and air sports are the most spectacular and exciting, both for the athlete and for the fan.Thanks to this, we see that there are more and more female athletes in Spanish aviation.For example, in 2022 5.5% of federation licenses in Spain they were for women and at the beginning of the year, we are already seeing a positive trend in the increase in federative competition licenses, since 9% of the licenses processed correspond to female athletes, with increasing access to disciplines and a continuous awareness that air sports are for everyone, women will have more and more presence in our sport.The challenge is to make ourselves known to these women who who are interested in aviation and have aptitudes”.
