UN Rights Chief Urges Global Action to Bridge Gender Gap in Women's Sports

By: WE staff | Monday, 21 July 2025

• UN High Commissioner Volker Türk called for greater international action to end gender inequality in sport
• Women athletes' equal rights and protection need to be given highest priority by all UN member states
• Türk demanded anti-discrimination, violence, and harassment policies within sports settings

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged UN member states to speed up the efforts to bring an end to gender discrimination in sport and safeguard women athletes' rights. Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, Türk highlighted that despite increasing global attention to women's sports, there remain still-existing inequalities that limit female athletes' opportunities.

He referred to the extreme pay difference between men and women in professional sports. For example, top women footballers generally get paid between $10,900 and $24,000 a year, whereas male footballers are paid an average of $1.8 million every year—a gap that devalues women's careers in sports.

Türk also raised concerns about the underrepresentation of women in leadership roles across sports institutions and the limited media coverage they receive. He highlighted how athletes of African descent often face systemic racism, including stereotypes, online abuse, and hate speech, further compounding the barriers they face.

To address these challenges, Türk called on governments to implement and enforce anti-discrimination laws, ensure equal pay for male and female athletes, and put robust measures in place to prevent and investigate violence and harassment in sports.

He also encouraged the international sports bodies especially those in charge of the mega sporting events, to endorse the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. This involves evaluation of the impact of their practice on women and measures thus taken to mitigate the risks and enhance equality.

Pointing at the transformative nature of sports, T Turk emphasized the necessity to establish a level playing field in which women and girls are able to prosper and be noticed as equals to their male fellows.

Using recent world data, TC Turk cited a 2024 Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC) Report that revealed that male athletes are earning about 21 times more than their female counterparts. Furthermore, pay gaps between men and women teams provided by Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) were considerable because of the restricted influence of women in the management of sports.

Turing closed on an optimistic note that the two governments and the sporting authorities must unite and develop a more progressive and open future of women in sports.