Policy development at the nexus of sport, gender and development has centred mainly on sport and gender. Increasingly, there is recognition of the need to involve and engage with gender issues through sport in the context of developing countries.

Major highlights in policy development in sport, gender and development:

  • 1949 – International Association of Physical Education and Sport for Girls and Women (IAPESGW) is formed
  • 1968 – a female athlete lights the Olympic fire for the first time at the Olympic Games in Mexico city
  • 1975 – UN Women’s World Conference in Mexico City leads to the creation of the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW) and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
  • 1979 – UN General Assembly adopts the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
  • 1981 – Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) is formed
  • 1981 – two female members are elected to join the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
  • 1984 – Women’s Sports Foundation is founded in Great Britain
  • 1994 – the first World Conference on Women and Sport and the signing of the Brighton Declaration, signals the ‘women in sport’ movement taking on an international dimension.
  • 1995 – the International Working Group on Women and Sport is formed and receives the status of official IOC commission
  • 1995 – the fourth UN Women’s World Conference takes place in Beijing, signalling the shift in discourse from ‘Women in Development’ (WID) to ‘Gender and Development’ (GAD)
  • 1996 – the promotion of female sport is added to the Olympic Charter
  • 1996 - the first IOC World Conference on Women and Sport, Lausanne, Switzerland. A resolution on women and sport is passed.
  • 1998 - the second IWG World Conference on Women and Sport, Windhoek, Namibia. The conference produced the 'Windhoek Call for Action' legacy.
  • 2002 - the third IWG World Conference on Women and Sport, Montreal, Canada. The conference produced the 'Montreal Toolkit' and 'Montreal Communique' legacies.
  • 2004 – the third IOC World Conference on Women and Sport is held in Morocco, entitled: ‘Sport as a Vehicle for Social Change’.
  • 2006 - the fourth IWG World Conference on Women and Sport, Kumamoto, Japan. The conference produced the 'Kumamoto Commitment to Collaboration' legacy.
  • 2008 - the fourth IOC World Conference on Women and Sport, Dead Sea, Jordan.
  • 2010 - the fifth IWG World Conference on Women and Sport, Sydney, Australia. The conference produced the 'Sydney Scoreboard' legacy.
  • 2012 - the fifth IOC World Conference on Women and Sport, Los Angeles, USA. The conference produced the 'Los Angelese Declaration'.