Promotion of Gender Equality and Women’s Health in Sport at the Council of Europe

On 5 and 6 March 2026, the Council of Europe in Strasbourg will host two important events marking International Women’s Day and advancing gender equality in sport policy and practice.

5 March 2026 | 14:00–17:00 (CET) | Hybrid

 

The official launch of the joint European Union–Council of Europe project “Active and Equal: Women’s Health in Sport across Generations” will take place at the Palais de l’Europe and online.

 

Implemented from January 2026 to December 2027, this is the first European project fully dedicated to embedding women’s health considerations into sport systems across the lifecycle. The initiative addresses key life stages — including adolescence, pregnancy, postpartum return to sport, menopause and ageing — as standard design parameters in sport policy, coaching, and programme delivery.

 

The project will deliver a European Mapping Report on Women’s Health in Sport, a dedicated Training Toolkit, and awareness-raising resources, while strengthening the capacity of coaches, educators, sport organisations and policymakers to respond to women’s health needs in a systematic and sustainable way 

 

The launch event will bring together representatives from EU and Council of Europe institutions, international experts, researchers, and elite athletes to address stigma, identify research gaps, and share best practices from elite to grassroots sport.

 

EPAS Breakfast Roundtable on Women and Girls’ Participation in Sport

 

6 March 2026 | 09:30–12:00 (CET) | Hybrid

 

On the following morning, the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) will organise its annual Breakfast Roundtable on women and girls’ participation in sport 

 

Building on the legacy of the “ALL IN” and “All In Plus” joint projects, the roundtable will explore persistent barriers to participation, including high dropout rates among girls and women. Recent findings show that women remain underrepresented across grassroots, club and elite sport structures in many European countries 

 

The event will feature:

Together, these two events reflect a continued commitment by the Council of Europe and the European Union to move from policy commitments to practical, measurable change — addressing both structural inequalities in participation and the often-overlooked health realities shaping women’s engagement in sport.