Brazilian Olympic Committee’s Women’s Sports Department
Increasingly committed to gender equality, the Brazilian Olympic Committee has just created the Women’s Sports Department, an area exclusively dedicated to the development of projects for female athletes, coaches, and managers. After a selection process, Olympic medalist Isabel Swan, sailing bronze medalist in Beijing 2008 (470 class), was chosen to fill the position, which foresees a detailed analysis of the participation of women in Brazilian sports, both in and out of competition.
“This is another important step in the process of gender equity in Brazilian Olympic sports that the NOC has been leading since the beginning of this administration. And it will be up to Isabel Swan, a reference in world sailing and an athlete committed to the Olympic Movement, to take the lead in this project”, states the NOC president, Paulo Wanderley Teixeira.
“It is a privilege to work at the NOC and have the chance to contribute to women’s sports, giving support so that women can develop their work. Our vision is medium to long term, identifying the current scenario and studying the actions that can be effectively executed”, says Isabel Swan, who resigned from the NOC’s Athletes’ Commission to take this position.
“Since last year’s electoral process, President Paulo Wanderley took on the commitment of creating a women’s sports department. Since then, there was a selection process, in which several Olympic athletes sent their resumes, and the chosen name was Isabel Swan, whose experience and leadership profile needs no introduction”, explains the NOC General Director Rogério Sampaio.
Currently, 55% of the NOC staff is made up of women, who still occupy seven of the entity’s 12 executive and management positions. In recent years, several actions have been taken in this direction, such as sending a 100% female team to coordinate the Brazilian delegation at the South American Games at Praia Rosário 2019 and the creation of the free course Prevention and Confrontation of Harassment and Abuse in Sports, offered in adult and youth versions, with the support of UN Women.
Moreover, Brazilian Olympic Committee was a finalist in the Women and Sport 2020 Award, promoted by the International Olympic Committee, which honours organisations and citizens who have made contributions to the development, encouragement, and reinforcement of women and girls participation in sport through actions of opportunity, recognition, and female empowerment.
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