The Global Observatory for Women and Sport

The Global Observatory for Women, Sport, Physical Education and Physical Activity (hereafter: The Global Observatory) has appointed Dr Payoshni Mitra as its first Chief Executive Officer. 

In the process of establishing its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, the Global Observatory aims to create a coherent global movement for all girls and women in sport and promote gender equality in and through sport.

Dr Payoshni Mitra is a gender and sport scholar, a prominent athlete rights advocate, and a leading campaigner in the abolition of sex testing policies in women’s sport. She has more than a decade-long experience of working closely with women athletes across Asia and Africa to enable them to address human rights violations in sports. Her advocacy work on inclusion and non- discrimination in sport has influenced important social, institutional, and structural changes on an international scale.

Read the full media release via the International Working Group (IWG) on Women & Sport here. 

About The Global Observatory

In July 2021, it was announced that the first-ever Global Observatory for Women, Sport, Physical Education and Physical Activity was being established in the Olympic Capital Lausanne, Switzerland. In collaboration with UNESCO, the Swiss Confederation appointed the City of Lausanne, the Canton of Vaud, and the University of Lausanne (UNIL) to ensure the necessary conditions for its creation. With the appointment of the CEO, the three entities, which consequently united and co-founded an association, are putting in place the foundations to render the Global Observatory operational, and the appointment of a leadership marks a crucial step towards that goal.

The Global Observatory is a direct result stemming from the Kazan Action Plan adopted in 2017 by the International Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Physical Education and Sport (MINEPS) of UNESCO. It aims to overcome global and systemic inequalities to achieve gender equality and empower girls and women in all their diversity in and through sport.

Contacts

Payoshni Mitra, Appointed CEO
Global Observatory for Women, Sport, Physical Education and Physical Activity
Email: payoshni.mitrawomensportgo.org