The Women’s World Cup will be staged by UN Women and FIFA
During the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to August 20, UN Women and FIFA are collaborating to celebrate the skills and accomplishments of teams and players while promoting gender equality in football and combating abuse and discrimination on and off the field.
With an expected viewership of over two billion people, this tournament presents an opportunity to highlight and advance gender equality in women’s football. Globally, women players still face challenges such as limited professional opportunities, a significant pay gap, fewer sponsorships, less airtime, and unequal playing conditions. Moreover, successful women players often encounter online and offline abuse.
To address these issues and work towards closing the gender gap in football, FIFA has increased the prize money for the 2023 Women’s World Cup to $150 million, triple the amount from 2019, as part of a three-step gender equality plan.
The “Football Unites the World” campaign aims to spotlight major gender equality issues during the tournament. UN Women and FIFA are partnering to call for action to “Unite for Gender Equality” as a fundamental human right and critical for a peaceful and sustainable world. They are also calling for action to “Unite for Ending Violence Against Women” to combat this pervasive human rights violation worldwide.
Both calls to action will be promoted through various channels, including team captains’ armbands, digital LED boards on the pitch, large flags presented on the field, giant screens in stadiums, and social media.
UN Women’s Executive Director, Sima Bahous, emphasized the importance of empowering women and girls in sports and the need to address discrimination and abuse to ensure equal opportunities for everyone.
Donations to support these initiatives and UN Women’s fight for gender equality in and through sports can be made to further these efforts.
Five other UN agencies, including UNESCO, UNHCR, UN Human Rights Commission, World Food Programme, and World Health Organization, have also joined the “Football Unites the World” cause activation.
