The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Sport and Recreation hosted a successful second KwaZulu-Natal Women in Sport Symposium from 6-7 March at Riverside Hotel in Durban.
In a ground-breaking move, the symposium adopted the implementation strategy for improving gender equality in sport structures in province.
The strategic document will provide a roadmap for delivery of women sport in the province, addressing many challenges facing females participating at different levels of sport.
Attended by over 150 delegates from across the province – including coaches, administrators and athletes, the two-day conference tackled various issues which were identified as major obstacles for female athletes and sport administrators to reach their full potential.
The adoption of the strategy and resolutions focused on a number of themes such as:
- Address the problem of participation
- Identify barriers
- Ensure transformation takes place at all levels (race, gender, demographics, and sporting codes)
- Ensure safety of women and girls in sport
- Ensure mentorship
- Enable change in cultural perceptions
In her address, the MEC for Arts, Culture, Sport and Recreation, Mrs Ntombikayise Sibhidla-Saphetha urged all delegates to ensure that they came up with long-lasting solutions that would advance gender equality in sport.
“Government has identified sport as an important instrument to effect transformation and nation building. This calls upon all of us in this sector to ensure that we lead by example in ensuring that our teams, federations and management reflect the demographics of this country,” she said.
“I want to make a call to all stakeholders in sport, individually and collectively to work towards ensuring that our sportswomen get the recognition they deserve. History will judge us harshly if we don’t act now to remove the barriers that prevent women is sport from realising their full potential,” Sibhidla-Saphetha added.
Other high-profile speakers at the conference included 10,000m silver medallist at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona Elana Meyer and Netball president Mimi Mthethwa.
To be held annually, the main purpose of the Women in Sport Symposium is to continuously assess the progress made in advancing women in sport and increase participation of girls and women.
