Canada's women Olympians and Paralympians ready to grab the spotlight

As the Paris Olympics and Paralympics approach, the spotlight on women's sports in Canada shines brighter than ever. Over the past four years, it's clear that the landscape has transformed: women’s sport in Canada has been elevated to unprecedented heights.

At the 2020 Tokyo Games, inspiring athletes like Maggie MacNeil, Camryn Rogers, Maude Charron, and Aurélie Rivard were some of the standout faces of Canadian women's sports. And who can forget when the Women's National Soccer Team captured the nation's heart with their historic gold medal victory?

Our women Olympians and Paralympians collectively symbolize Canada’s pride and potential.

Their trials and triumphs inspire girls and women across the country to dust off their running shoes, sign up for swimming lessons, and push a little further at morning practice.

However, as shared in a recent article, “inspiration doesn’t break down the barriers that prevent so many young people from participating in the first place.”

And girls face a disproportionate number of barriers. In fact, 1 in 3 girls drop out of sport by the time they reach adolescence (compared to 1 in 10 boys). Girls cite lack of quality experiences, cost of participation, and lack of confidence as some of the main barriers keeping them out of sport.

Harnessing Olympic inspiration requires Canadian sport organizations and leaders at all levels to design girl-centric, accessible environments and programs that attract and keep diverse Canadian girls in sport. It also requires sustained investment from all levels of government and corporate partners. Only when this happens will we be able to fully capture the inspiration of the Olympics and Paralympics and turn it into participation.

The stories and setbacks of our women athletes also shed light on the barriers girls and women face both here at home and around the world.

Paris 2024 is set to make Olympic history by achieving gender parity on the field of play for the first time. This means there will be equal numbers of women and male athletes competing this summer, a huge improvement from where we started in 1900 when women first competed at the Olympics and represented only 2.2% of athletes. But gender equity at the Games doesn’t end on the field of play. To achieve a truly gender equitable Games, we have to look at the full ecosystem and consider gender equity in coaching and support roles, leadership and administration, event scheduling, media coverage, and so much more.

Moving towards gender equity also requires speaking out against harmful policies towards girls and women, including the current Hijab bans in French sport, a ban that not only applies to elite or professional sport, but to youth sport as well. This exclusionary policy has been called discriminatory against Muslim girls and women and a breach of international human rights laws by leading human rights organizations.

Here at home, elite women athletes face unique barriers to sport based on gender, including no national policy for maternity leave which leaves many women athletes faced with the challenge of balancing starting a family with their athlete career. Gaps in policy at all levels of the sport system create barriers for women and girls, and put them at risk of harm.

If we truly believe that sport belongs to everyone, we must work to protect the decades of progress that’s been made, continue to push for more equitable and inclusive sport both at home and abroad, and celebrate success along the way.

Traditionally, the Olympics and Paralympics are a platform for Canadian athletes to capture attention and acclaim. For women, the Games have been one of their only opportunities. But this year, the Olympics offer a unique moment to not only celebrate women athletes but to help springboard gender equity in sport into a new era of sustained support and visibility.

And the timing couldn't be better.

In 2024, Canadians witnessed the record-breaking launch of the Professional Women’s Hockey League. Next year, we will see the Northern Super League come to life, followed shortly by a WNBA team in Toronto in 2026. Have no doubt, with a growing fanbase of 17 million Canadians, professional women’s sport is here to stay. Women’s pro sport in Canada signifies more than just new leagues and teams; it reflects the growing cultural shift towards consistent and meaningful investment in girls’ and women's sports.

As the nation gears up for Paris, the Olympics and Paralympics will once again be a point of national pride. By designing accessible, girl-centric sport environments, investing in all levels of women’s sport, and championing the rights of all girls to access sport, we can help ensure the legacy of the Games extends beyond the closing ceremonies.