Player's Own Voice podcast: Watching the Beijing Olympics with Nancy Lee
IOC adviser on gender equality offers insider perspective ahead of Winter Games
Nancy Lee is the International Olympic Committee (IOC) adviser on gender equality.
The straightforward job title belies a serious complexity of work being done.
For starters, gender equality is not simple math. 5,000 male and 5,000 female athletes is not a one-and-done solution. Some events, such as Nordic Combined, are still men-only at the Olympics. That's changing by the way — but not in time for Beijing.
There are issues with some of the proposed fixes for inequality.
In some mixed events, men race longer distances than women. Is that equality? Even where there is agreement on plans and programs, the IOC cannot just wave its wand and command change: there are 206 national Olympic committees who each have say in matters. And before that, every sport has its own federation, not all of whom are equally invested in getting gender balance in place.
Equity questions abound, from minutiae to momentous. Why must women beach volleyball players run around in butt floss? How is it possible that Beijing will be the first winter Olympics to do away with "ladies" events? (Nancy won that linguistic battle for women by arguing that if we're going to call them 'ladies,' the guys have to be referred to as 'gentlemen'.)
Media plays a role too.
Do you see images of active male athletes and emotional female athletes? Do cameras linger on video of 'pretty' athletes? Are male coaches asked more probing questions than their female counterparts? Do men's events get better slots in prime time? Are women competing when audiences are smaller?
Player's Own Voice podcast host Anastasia Bucsis works with Lee to guide Olympic fans through the gamut of things to look and listen for during the Beijing competition.
Never one to shy away from contentious issues, Lee also lays down firm guidance on how the Canadian government should be spending your tax dollars in the area of sports and equality. When groups petition the feds for money to host Commonwealth games, or Canada Games, or Pan Am, or FIFA events, Lee wants Ottawa to make sure there are strings attached.
If you want taxpayer support — can you guarantee women won't be playing soccer on plastic turf while men are on actual grass? Will men compete downtown, and women find themselves in facilities in the boondocks? Are there provisions to mentor and bring more qualified women officials, coaches and governance on board?
Once you begin looking, you'll see progress being made all over sports, as well as room for improvement.
Have a listen. It's your decoder ring for the politics of equality at the Olympics.
Like the CBC Sports' Player's Own Voice essay series, POV podcast lets athletes speak to Canadians about issues from a personal perspective.
A transcript is are available for our hard of hearing audience. To listen to Nancy Lee, any of the guests from earlier episodes, and more Canadian athletes throughout the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, head to CBC Listen — or wherever you get your podcasts.
