ABSTRACT
What is the situation today? Using the Olympic Games as an example, we observe that women are increasingly being admitted to more and more previously designated ‘male’ types of sport – even soccer, ice hockey, weightlifting and pole-vaulting are now included in the women’s programme (Pfister 2000). This development gives rise to the issue as to whether the long-standing demand for equal access and equal opportunity for women and men in sport has finally been met. However, women in ‘male’ sports still represent a tiny minority of young athletes and, as far as is known, women and girls in many countries of the world are engaged in physical activities and sport to a much smaller extent than boys and men (see the contributions in Christensen et al. 2001). Nonetheless, questions surrounding the issue still remain. Are there countries where women form the majority of those active in sport? Do girls and women everywhere prefer the same types of physical activities and sport and the same sport providers? Do female elite athletes worldwide enjoy the same support as their male counterparts? And, while decision-making committees still seem to be in the hands of men, is this true for all countries throughout the world?1
