Conversation on gender inclusivity in sports was long overdue

The national cross country championship kicks off in Eldoret this Saturday where hundreds of athletes will be battling for top honours across seven categories.

Hundreds of kilometres away in Mombasa, sports stakeholders have been deliberating on gender inclusivity (and exclusivity) in the industry based on a report by the Catherine Ndereba-led Sports Committee on Gender and Welfare.

The Agnes Tirop Conference – aptly named after the 2015 World Cross Country silver medalist – seeks to find solutions to ensure all sportspersons are able to reap the true value of their talents.

One of the hallmarks of the report is the finding that there are widespread gender disparities in Kenyan sports as far as remuneration; management, coaching and sports development is concerned.

Worldwide, gender inequality in sports has been a thorn in the flesh for many federations and national sports bodies. For instance, the United States women’s football team players have for a long time been engaged in a row with the national soccer federation over what they term as unequal pay compared to their male counterparts.

While briefing the press on plans for the conference, Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed even spoke of the gender imbalance witnessed on technical benches of many teams going for international assignments.

In view of the foregoing, the conference is timely because it is time we had an honest conversation on the current state of sports and how to remove these barriers that prevent many sportswomen from reaping the fruits of their labour.

Admittedly, in a patriarchal universe such as ours, topics such as gender inclusivity and equality are an elephant in the room that often touches on certain raw nerves.

It would seem better to let the status quo be but in an industry preset on the ideals of fairness, it is important that everyone gets to experience the same.

Therefore, the Agnes Tirop Conference puts Kenya in a vantage position as one of the countries that has taken the bull by the horn and tackled the problem head-on.

Sports has been shown to be a unifying factor, bringing together people of different creed and backgrounds. Burying our heads in the sand as far as gender inclusivity is concerned is recipe for division in the industry, especially between the two genders.

As a stakeholder in the industry, I am hopeful the resolutions from Diani in Kwale County will be implemented to ensure each and every sportsperson in Kenya is confident of success in the knowledge that the building blocks for the same are already in place.