Gender Equality & Sport+ Conference 2025
Connecting for Change
Held on Tuesday, 30 September 2025

IMD, Lausanne – Switzerland

The Annual Conference of the Global Observatory for Gender Equality & Sport provided a collaborative platform for academics, associations, UN Agencies, International Sports Federations, partners and potential supporters to engage all the different stakeholders in meaningful discussions, share experiences, bring in various perspectives, and develop actionable strategies to promote gender equality in sports.

The theme for this year’s conference was Connecting for Change.

More about the speakers
About the conference

Connecting for Change reflects the GO’s mission to catalyse collective action between multisectoral stakeholders around the world. It symbolises the necessity for coordinated, collaborative and democratised knowledge and data sharing as an essential way to continue to advance gender equality in and through Physical Education, Physical Activity, and Sport (PEPAS) for all women and girls. This year’s conference explored political, practical and innovative approaches being used to strengthen gender equality and sport+.

The aims of the Gender Equality and Sport + Conference were to:

  • Showcase new knowledge, research, good practices, and lessons learnt by stakeholders working to advance gender equality in PEPAS, highlighting sector-wide challenges, successes and developments, while continuing to identify areas that require attention and further enquiry.
  • Foster networking and engagement among global stakeholders by strengthening cross-sector connections and collaboration including among public institutions, civil society and others.
  • Break knowledge silos and enhance cross-sector collaboration and facilitate cross-sector knowledge exchange by addressing shared challenges, successes, and emerging trends.
  • Equip the sector with resources, best practice sand evidence-based tools, that have the potential to enhance their capacities to address gender inequalities in context specific ways.
  • Demonstrate the importance of high-quality, shared data, and present new insights on measuring and tracking gender equality in PEPAS.

The programme featured keynote addresses, interviews, Q&As, panel discussions, plenaries, visual presentations, and networking sessions. Speakers included members of the GO Advisory Council, GO network, partners, researchers, government representatives, United Nations entities, and experts from sport and non-sport sectors.

By offering this international platform, the Global Observatory aimed to foster a collaborative environment where all participants could contribute to creating a more inclusive and equitable sporting world.

Alongside the conference, the Board, Expert Group, Academic Partners, and General Assembly of the Global Observatory have convened for their respective meetings.

Photos of the Global Equality & Sport+ Conference 2025

View more pictures of the event on the photo gallery page
Watch the conference highlight video

Official Report of the Global Equality & Sport+ Conference 2025

The Global Observatory for Gender Equality & Sport (GO) held its annual Connecting for Change Conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, bringing together a wide range of global stakeholders dedicated to advancing gender equality in and through physical education, physical activity and sport (PEPAS).
Reflecting the GO’s mission to catalyse collective action, the conference highlighted the importance of coordinated and inclusive knowledge and data sharing. It explored political, practical and innovative approaches to strengthening gender equality and sport+, while identifying shared challenges and areas requiring continued attention.
The programme featured keynote speeches, panel discussions, interviews, plenaries and networking sessions, with contributions from members of the GO Advisory Council, academic partners, government representatives, UN entities and experts from across the sport and non-sport sectors.
The conference report outlines the main insights and key discussions from Connecting for Change. Read it here to revisit the event’s highlights and gain a concise overview of current developments in gender equality and sport+.

Conference Resources 
Powerpoint Presentations

Session 1: Meaningful inclusion and participation in and through sport

Panelists explored tensions and opportunities surrounding inclusion and will examined global developments and will interrogated systemic forms of exclusion, legal frameworks and policy-level interventions.  

Panelists:

Dr. Decious Chipande, African Union Sport Council

Nikki Dryden, OLY, Human Rights & Sport Lawyer

Hugh Torrence, EGLSF

Hasnae El Ayoubi, International School Sport Federation

Moderator: Prof. Adele Pavidis, Griffith University

Session 2: Who is responsible for preventing and responding to gender-based violence?

This session delved deeper into institutional responsibility, prevention and responding, disclosure mechanisms, and experiences, media reporting, and the alignment of global frameworks with global experiences and voices. 

Panelists:

Prof. Kirsty Forsdike, La Trobe University

Mathilde Grenet, En Garde

Seleagaia Toluiva Keneti, Lakapi Samoa

Victoire Aimé, UNESCO

Moderator : Anne Tiivas, Safe Sport International

Session 3: Measuring Impact - Going beyond the numbers

This session explored strategies to measure gender equality outcomes in meaningful and impactful ways. It considered inclusive data collection, impactful evaluation frameworks, and sustainable evidence-based strategies to provide deeper insights on how to continue to advance gender equality in physical education, physical activity, and sport.   

Presenter: Jules McGreever, Equal Careers

Panelists:

Belén Martinez, Ibero America Sport Council

Dr. Nana Adom Aboagye, Research Fellow

Angela Mantilla, Adidas Foundation

Moderator: Dr. Lombe Mwambwa

Session 4: Keynote- Harnessing the potential of digital technology & AI

This session dived into how digital technology, AI, and big data are transforming the sport ecosystem and implications for safe and inclusive sport.  

Presenter: Lucy Mills, Ready Sport

Session 5: Reimagining sport - Athlete empowerment

This session brought lived experience to the forefront- sharing how athletes are advancing gender equality through their platforms and personal journeys. From law to activism to education, their work spans sectors and continents, reflecting the power of individual leadership rooted in community action.  

Panelists:

Bernadette Deka-Zulu, The Racheal Kundananji Legacy Foundation

Friba Rezayee, OLY, Women Leaders of Tomorrow

Maggie Mac Neil, OLY, Louisiana State University

Moderator: Gaby Garton, World Players Association

Session 6: parallel sessions

One of two parallel conference sessions were offered, providing participants with the opportunity to engage in an audience-led Q&A or expert led workshop designed to foster dialogue, reflection, and problem solving.

Q&A Panel: Current Research Landscape on Women’s Health and Sport

Dr. Kat Okholm Kryger, UEFA

Dr. Madeleine Pape, University of Lausanne

Moderator: Dr. Aaron Baggish, University of Lausanne & Cardiovascular Performance Program (CPP) at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

Workshop: Community-led participation for impact and evaluation

Dr. Rabyn Smith, Loughborough University

Dr. Oliver Hooper, Loughborough University

Prof. Lyndsay Hayhurst, York University

Session 7: Change making - Shaping the future of sport and gender equality

This forward-looking panel brought together stakeholders who are driving the future of gender equality in sport. From grassroots activism to global policy, each speaker offered bold insights into what actions need to happen to ensure equitable sport, physical activity and physical education systems.  

Panelists:

André Oliveira, International Hockey Federation

Patrick Stolpman, International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE)

Prof. Elizabeth Pike, University of Hertforshire

Primrose Mhunduru, IOC

Moderator: Francine Raveney, Council of Europe

Speakers

Adele Pavlidis
Dr Adele Pavlidis is an Associate Professor in Sociology with the School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science, at Griffith University. She has published widely on a range of sociocultural issues in sport and leisure, with a focus on gender and power relations. Theoretically her work traverses contemporary scholarship on affect, power and organizations, and she is deeply interested in social, cultural and personal transformation and the entanglements between people, organizations, and wellbeing.
André Oliveira
Sports Manager with a broad range of experience, ranging from Education, Development, Initiation, Gender Equality and Parasport. My first Gender Equality conference was more than 20 years ago when I was still in Uni. Over the last 10 I've been working with Gender Equality in Hockey, where this is one of the pillars of the sport identity.
Angela Mantilla
Angela Mantilla is Head of Programs at the adidas Foundation, where she leads initiatives that harness sport to empower women and girls and challenge gender-based discrimination. With years of experience in impact measurement in sustainability, she is passionate about driving inclusive, evidence-based programs that create meaningful and lasting change.
Anne Tiivas
Anne Tiivas advises international and national sports bodies, inter-governmental agencies, and other groups, on child and adult protection and safeguarding in sport. She is a Director of the International Olympic Committee Safeguarding Officer Certificate Course. She is passionate about inclusion, child and human rights in sport, as the basis for everyone being able to participate in sport in a safe inclusive and enjoyable environment.
Belén Martinez
Belén Martínez is a senior public official at Spain’s Higher Council for Sports (CSD) with over 20 years of experience in sports project management, international cooperation, sports promotion, and sporting event organization. She serves as Executive Secretary of the Ibero-American Sports Council (CID), created 31 years ago to foster sports development, public policies, and cooperation across Ibero-America. She also acts as Technical Secretary of the Ibero-American Women and Sport Network, established in 2009 to promote gender equality and female participation in sport.
Bernadette DekaZulu
Bernadette DekaZulu is a policy expert with over 15 years of experience in public policy, governance, and development. A PhD Fellow in Economic and Public Policy, she has represented Zambia on global platforms including the UN and AU. She is the Global Lead of the Racheal Kundananji Legacy Foundation and Founding President of Shaping Futures Zambia.Her work strongly focuses on gender equality, sport for development, and advancing human rights.
Decius Hikabwa Chipande
Dr. Decius Hikabwa Chipande heads the African Union Sport Council (AUSC), a Specialised Technical Office of the African Union responsible for sports. Over his career, he has worked with inter-governmental sports organizations and international NGOs involved in sports development and sports for development, where he was responsible for promoting sports development and sports for development
Dr Oliver Hooper
Dr Oliver Hooper is a Senior Lecturer in Physical Education at Youth Sport in the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences at Loughborough University, UK. Oliver’s research explores young people’s experiences within physical education and youth sport contexts with a specific focus on the experiences of marginalised youth. He is particularly interested in ‘youth voice’ and the use of participatory methods to facilitate young people’s meaningful involvement within research.
Dr. Aaron L. Baggish
Dr. Aaron L. Baggish is the founder and Director of the Cardiovascular Performance Program (CPP) at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA, USA, the United States’ first program designed to provide comprehensive cardiovascular care to athletes. He now directs Sports Cardiology at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland where he sees athletes with cardiovascular disease / risk and unexplained performance issues. He provides remote consultation services for athletes (elite and recreational) from around the world.
Elizabeth Pike
Prof. Elizabeth Pike is Professor and Head of the Institute of Sport, University of Hertfordshire, past-President of the International Sociology of Sport Association, Research Lead for the IWG Secretariat 2022-2026 leading the Anita White Fund, Project Director of the Women in Sport High Performance pathway (WISH), and Global Winner of the IOC’s Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award. She has recently published two monographs: The International Working Group on Women and Sport 1994-2024 - The Challenge of Change, and Rethinking Sport and Society.
Friba Rezayee
Friba Rezayee is the founder and the Executive Director of Women Leaders of Tomorrow and its leadership in sports project GOAL (Girls of Afghanistan Lead). She was born and raised in Kabul, Afghanistan. At the age of 18, she made history by competing in Judo at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens as Afghanistan’s first ever female Olympic athlete.
Gaby Garton
Dr Gaby Garton is a former professional football player, who represented Argentina at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and is now Player Relations Coordinator at the World Players Association, leading its work on women’s sports and its academic network. She has also worked as a casual lecturer and research assistant at the Institute for Health and Sport at Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia. Her book, Guerreras: Football, Women, and Power, was the first postgraduate dissertation on elite women’s football in Argentina.
Hasnae El Ayoubi
Mrs. El Ayoubi brings over a decade of impactful experience in education with a strong focus on fostering transformative educational initiatives working with Ministries of Education across more than 70 countries. Currently serving as the Executive Director of the International School Sport Federation (ISF), Mrs. El Ayoubi is dedicated to enhancing the global impact of school sport by driving innovative programs that promote education, mental and physical health, and inclusion through sports. Her leadership has strengthened international collaboration, elevating the role of school sport in shaping future generations.
Hugh Torrance
Hugh Torrance is the Co-President of the European Gay and Lesbian Sport Federation (EGLSF), where he works to advance LGBTQI+ inclusion and equality in sport across Europe. In this role, he advocates for safe, inclusive sporting spaces and strengthens partnerships with international organizations to tackle discrimination and promote diversity.
Jules McGreever
Jules McGeever brings over two decades of commercial and leadership experience in football, spanning club, national, and international levels. She has played key roles in shaping and delivering female leadership, capacity building and operational planning programmes across Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia, designed to accelerate women’s leadership within national federations, creating lasting leadership landscape changes. As Co-Founder of EqualCareers, she works with sports organisations to dismantle structural, cultural, and capability-based barriers to equity.
Kat Okholm Kryger
Dr Kat Okholm Kryger is a Medical Specialist at UEFA Medical & Anti-Doping where her work focuses on football medicine research and knowledge transfer - with a special passion for the women’s side of the game. Kat is also a Visiting Professor in Women’s Football at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. Her research background has focused on football medicine, performance, and technology, with a particular emphasis on supporting women’s football by supporting the evidence-based practice development and implementation.
Kirsty Forsdike
Associate Professor Kirsty Forsdike is a Principal Research Fellow in the Reducing Gender Based Violence Research Group, and Associate Dean of Research, at the Rural Health School of La Trobe University. She leads a program of research on gender-based violence in sport and organizational responses to violence against women. She has extensive experience working across sport, health, and community sectors. Her work informs policy on the safety of women in sport and inclusive practice both in Australia and internationally.
Lucy Mills
Lucy Mills is the Founder and Chief Catalyst at Ready Sport Global, a digital innovation consultancy that gets sport ready for the future. Their AI division helps sports organizations unlock the value of artificial intelligence. She previously led football-programs in 30+ countries, including with FC Barcelona and the 2010 FIFA World Cup legacy. Lucy is a Professor of Sport & Innovation at Emlyon Business School and was recognized with the 2023 Everything in Sport Award for her work on emerging tech education in women’s sport.
Madeleine Pape
Dr Madeleine Pape (she/her) is a sociologist at the University of Lausanne’s Institute of Social Sciences. Following her career as an Olympian (Beijing Olympic Games, Athletics, 800m), Madeleine obtained her PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research examines how gender inequalities shape health and injury in sporting environments and debates about how to regulate the boundaries of the women’s competition category. Madeleine’s work has been published in leading international journals and has been funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, US National Science Foundation, Australian Research Council, and Olympic Studies Centre.
Maggie Mac Neil
Maggie Mac Neil is a two-time Olympian and Tokyo Olympic Games, 8x World, Commonwealth Games, 5xPan American Games champion in swimming. From London, Ontario, Canada, she received her MSc from LSU just before the Paris 2024 Olympics. She retired from sport in September 2024 to pursue her law degree, to work towards sport law and athlete rights.
Mathilde Grenet
Mathilde Grenet, founder of the safeguarding consultancy EN GARDE, is an international Safe Sport specialist committed to preventing and responding to interpersonal violence in sport. A former NCAA tennis player and survivor of sexual abuse, she transforms her experience into action, partnering with leading sports organisations such as FIFA, UCI, FIS, European Athletics, World Athletics, and others to design and implement impactful safeguarding programmes and initiatives.
Nana Adom Aboagye
Dr. Nana Adom-Aboagye is a South African research scholar in the field of sport, focusing on women's participation, gender equality and policy. She has conducted various research projects and studies, at the 13th Africa Games, for AUSC Region 5, and at the Netball World Cup 2023. She is currently a Knowledge Exchange Commission member of The Association for International Sport for All (TAFISA) and an Expert Group Member of the Global Observatory.
Nikki Dryden
Nikki Dryden is a dual-qualified human rights lawyer and two-time Olympian with over two decades of experience at the intersection of sport, human rights, and immigration. She is currently Senior Lawyer at Game Legal and leads the Rights in Sport Working Group, supporting National Sporting Organisations across Australia. A Fulbright Scholar and former Human Rights Advisor to Sport Integrity Australia, Nikki has represented athletes and whistleblowers in complex cases before the Court of Arbitration for Sport and has helped shape global sport policy through roles on the Board of the Centre for Sport and Human Rights and Editorial Board at LawInSport.
Patrick Stolpmann
Patrick Stolpmann is a dynamic leader and bespoke D&I champion with a wealth of experience in both corporate and non-profit sectors. As the Executive Director of the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE), he has already made significant strides in advancing the organization's mission focused on sport science, education, and policy.
Primrose Mhunduru
Primrose Mhunduru is an accomplished Sports Administrator and Manager with ten+ years of professional experience in sport development, project and event management, anti-doping and athlete & stakeholder engagement. She has worked across national and international sports organisations in Africa and Europe and is Manager for Gender Equality and Inclusion at the International Olympic Committee. Primrose works to ensure gender mainstreaming across the different Functional Areas of the Olympic Games Organising Committees. 
Robyn Smith
Dr Robyn Smith is a Research Fellow in the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences at Loughborough University. Her research explores the intersections of community sport, leisure, and wellbeing, with a particular focus on equity-owed communities. She has published widely on participatory research approaches in sport and physical activity and has extensive experience collaborating with community sport organisations to embed creative and participatory approaches in programme co-design, delivery, and evaluation.
Seleagaia Toluiva Keneti
Assistant Administrator. Samoa Rugby Union
Simone Fullagar
Dr Simone Fullagar (she/her) is Professor and Chair of the Sport and Gender Equity research hub and lead for the Inclusive Play theme in the Reimaging Disability, Griffith Inclusive Futures programme at Griffith University, Australia. Simone has worked internationally at the University of Bath and is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, UK. She has published feminist, interdisciplinary sociological research using postqualitative approaches across sport, leisure and mental health fields.
Victoire Aimé
Victoire Aimé is a Project Officer at UNESCO, where she specializes in advancing initiatives on gender equality, gender-based violence prevention and policy development in sport. With experience across UNESCO and the EU, she has worked on global ministerial conferences, co-authored flagship publications and policy toolkits, and represented UNESCO in high-level fora. She holds a dual Master’s degree in International Affairs from Sciences Po Paris and the London School of Economics, and has a background in sport as a former competitive football player.

Venues

Mövenpick Hotel

The four-star Mövenpick Hotel Lausanne was the official hotel of the Gender Equality & Sport+ Conference 2025. Located in the Ouchy district of Lausanne, it is just a few minutes away from the conference venue, the train station and Lake Geneva.

The Mövenpick Hotel Lausanne is the perfect destination for business or leisure travellers to discover the charm and hospitality of Lausanne.

The hotel was originally built in 1988 and was renovated in 2020. There are two restaurants, a terrace, and bar offering a superb view of the lake.

How to get there

IMD business school

IMD is a top-ranked business school which specialises in developing global leaders through high-impact executive education. IMD focuses on real-world executive development; it offers Swiss excellence with a global perspective; and has a flexible, customised and effective approach.

IMD is an independent academic institute with strong ties to business and a clear focus on creating impact.

The institute supports the transition to a new model that balances prosperity and growth with ecological sustainability and social inclusion. Sustainability, as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion, are core principles embedded within its framework.

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