A/HRC/44/26 12. The Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance has identified race as a gatekeeper for elite sport.18 While women’s participation rates in the Olympics in some sports approach those of men, 19 available data do not parse differences across race, ethnicity and other characteristics, within and across nations.20 Opportunities to participate in sport at the local level, which vary in large part based on access to resources, greatly influence women’s participation in elite or professional sport.21 13. Access is also uneven across different sports, some of which require costly facilities.22 Women and girls from low-income households therefore face particular barriers in accessing the necessary facilities and equipment, as well as barriers arising from the uneven distribution of home and family obligations.23 These burdens fall disproportionately on women and girls belonging to marginalized groups, including those living in poverty, women from racial and ethnic minority groups, and migrant women. 14. Discrimination against women and girls in sport extends to unequal pay 24 and underrepresentation in leadership positions in sport.25 The impact of the commercialization of sports on gender equality has begun to be examined, but much more work is needed to understand the discriminatory effects of financial and marketing practices across race and gender, in light of the changing nature of both the athletes and the audiences. 26 15. The media play a vital role in drawing attention to and increasing support for the participation of women and girls in sport, yet a study by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) found that only 4 per cent of sports media content is dedicated to women’s sport.27 Media representations frequently propagate gender and racial stereotypes that denigrate ethnic and racial minority women in particular. 28 Reporting often references women’s physical appearance, age and personal lives, rather than their athletic abilities.29 16. Researchers have also documented the implicit bias and stereotypes operating in the coverage of women athletes in the media, and some evidence shows bias has increased in the 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 4 A/69/340, para. 21. The International Olympic Committee projected a 48.8 per cent participation rate in the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. See International Olympic Committee, “Promotion of women in sport through time”. Emily J. Houghton, Lindsay Pieper and Maureen Smith, Women in the Olympic and Paralympic Games: An Analysis of Participation, Leadership, and Media Coverage (East Meadow, New York, Women’s Sports Foundation, 2017). Submissions of Ecuador and the Commission for Gender Equality. A/69/340, para. 21. See, for example, CEDAW/C/CHL/CO/7, para. 40. See also submission of Italy and Megan Chawansky and Payoshni Mitra, “Family matters: studying the role of the family through the eyes of girls in an SfD programme in Delhi”, Sport in Society, vol. 18, No. 8 (January 2015). See, for example, Anne Peterson, “FIFA partners with the UN to promote gender equity”, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) News, 7 June 2019. See also Anne Peterson, “Women’s national soccer team players sue for equal pay.” PBS News, 8 March 2019. See, for example, International Working Group on Women and Sport, “Women and sport: from Brighton to Windhoek – facing the challenge”, progress report, 1998. Available from https://iwgwomenandsport.org/programmes/insight-hub/. Wolfram Manzenreiter, “The business of sports and the manufacturing of global social inequality”, Esporte e Sociedade, vol. 2, No. 6 (2007). “UNESCO calls for fairer media coverage of sportswomen”, 8 February 2018. Manuel R. Zenquis and Munene F. Mwaniki, “The intersection of race, gender, and nationality in sport: media representation of the Ogwumike sisters”, Journal of Sport and Social Issues, vol. 43, No. 1 (2019), and Kara Allen and Cynthia M. Frisby, “A content analysis of microaggressions in news stories about female athletes participating in the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics”, Journal of Mass Communication and Journalism, vol. 7, No. 3 (June 2017). See also submission of Sexual Rights Initiative. University of Cambridge, “Aesthetics over athletics when it comes to women in sport”, 12 August 2016, and Ivana Katsarova, “Gender equality in sport: getting closer every day”, briefing, European Parliamentary Research Service, March 2019.