The 'empowering' change to Olympic figure skating

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February 4, 2022

Good morning, Broadsheet readers! The WNBA raises investor money for a business model revamp, female world leaders ease COVID rules, and the Olympics are chipping away at gender disparities. Have a great weekend.
– The Games are beginning. The Olympics, which start today in Beijing, will no doubt offer moving displays of athleticism, sportsmanship, and resolve. No matter the public health or geopolitical controversies swirling around the Games, the athletes’ stories of adversity and triumph pull us in every single time. But the Olympics’ scale and enormous profile also have a downside—they magnify the inequalities of sports and cast them onto the world stage.
The 2022 Winter Games so far have shown some signs of progress on this front. For one, the premiere event of women’s figure skating is getting a subtle name change—it will be called just that: ‘women’s figure skating,’ instead of ‘ladies’ figure skating.’ The tweak is the result of a 2018 review by the International Olympic Committee, which said that “use of ‘ladies’ is inappropriate when ‘men’ is being used. The term should be women.” Many viewers might not notice the new title, but 2021 U.S. champion Mariah Bell, who’s skating in Beijing, told NBC it’s meaningful. “Ladies are great,” she said, “but women are empowered and mature.”
The 2022 Games will also feature seven new events, four of which are mixed-gender competitions. Events like “mixed team snowboard cross” are dismantling long-standing silos that segregated Olympians by gender and are giving women more chances to win gold.
All told, the athlete make-up in Beijing is expected to be 55% male and 45% female, the IOC says.
But there are still battles to be waged. NPR has the story of women ski jumpers who for years objected to International Ski Federation rules that required female skiers to wear suits that featured extra fabric around the hips. The organization said the additional panels were intended to fit a woman’s body better, but women in the sport argued that they were an excuse to accentuate athletes’ hips and curves. The federation dropped the rule ahead of the Games, but female skiers say that victory shouldn’t mask other disparities in the sport. For instance, the Olympics will feature four ski jumping events for men, but only two for women.
“That’s that many more opportunities at an Olympic medal,” Canadian ski jumper Abigail Strate told NPR. “That’s that many more opportunities to put yourself out there and show yourself as an athlete.”
Claire Zillman
claire.zillman@fortune.com
@clairezillman
The Broadsheet, Fortune’s newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women, is coauthored by Kristen Bellstrom, Emma Hinchliffe, and Claire Zillman. Today’s edition was curated by Emma Hinchliffe.

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PARTING WORDS

"I’m trying to do the best I can, and take a stand when I think I can have an impact."
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