RWhen I think about women’s sport at the Paris Olympics, I feel torn. Parity between male and female athletes was proudly announced and that was an important milestone. But it is not particularly reassuring that it has taken 124 years since women also made their debut in Paris.

There were some incredible highlights, such as Keely Hodgkinson’s brilliant performance on the track, Sky Brown’s fearless skateboarding and Emma Finucane’s impressive debut in the velodrome. The athlete of the Games could arguably be Sifan Hassan, who won bronze in the 5,000m and 10,000m and then gold in the marathon, with the medal ceremony being a part of the closing ceremony. Or Simone Biles, who took gymnastics to new heights and showed that you can do it while having fun and cheering on your competitors, leaving the sport’s abusive history behind.

But there have also been low points, notably the boxing fiasco, where the male leaders of the International Olympic Committee, who wield so much power and authority, did not understand what it means to protect the female category in sport.

Looking beyond the athletes reveals further gaps. Parity in coaching is still a long way off. At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, only 13% of coaches were female, and in Paris that number is likely to have been even lower. UK Sport has made a concerted effort to support the development of female coaches and the number has doubled, albeit from 10%. When you look at other roles – officials, judges and senior management positions, or the ranks of photographers or camera operators – you realise how high the mountain is that still needs to be climbed.

There are other challenges beyond this. Sport science has traditionally focused on men, leading to deeply rooted systemic biases. In 2023, 8% of sport science research was conducted exclusively on women. As women’s experiences in recreational and elite sport are influenced by menstrual cycles, periods and differences in skeletal structure, as well as different life changes through puberty, fertility, pregnancy, postnatal experiences and menopause, much more is needed to support women in sport.

Female athletes are more visible than ever, which is helpful. What you can’t see, you can’t talk about. Several have spoken publicly about natural performance factors that were previously ignored. Jazmin Sawyers, Dina Asher-Smith and Eilish McColgan, for example, have pointed out the impact of periods on cramping and injuries during competition. Hodgkinson stressed that there is a lack of research on the impact of contraception on women in sport.

Former US runner Allyson Felix has campaigned with sponsors for maternity rights for female athletes and opened the first nursery in the Olympic Village in France. In Paris, nine mums were on Team GB and seven won medals. Each of them has pioneered the art of combining motherhood and elite competition but, as rower Helen Glover pointed out, support is needed to make this process easier for those who follow her. Most other mums who want to be active are likely to receive much less support.

At least we are beginning to acknowledge some known unknowns. The UK Sports Institute (UKSI) is conducting long overdue research and starting conversations among athletes, coaches and staff in high performance sport about menstrual cycles and their potential impact. Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) worked with the UKSI to research hormones and nutrition to better understand Red-S (relative energy deficit in sport) which has affected many women’s sporting careers.

MMU and UKSI are developing a global centre for research, education and applied practice in women’s health and performance to support elite athletes and wider public health.

Three brilliant women – coach Baz Moffat, GP Ella Ross and sports scientist Bella Smith from The Well HQ, a women’s health in sport consultancy – are doing their part to highlight where systemic change is needed to enable women to participate in sport. They have identified gaps in education, training, equipment, knowledge, research and funding.

Finding a sports bra that fits can be as simple or as complex. One study showed that a properly fitting bra can affect running performance by as much as 7% due to changes in stride length, muscle fatigue, injury and perception of exertion affecting pace. A study of female athletes at the Tokyo Olympics found that the majority did not know which sports bra was best for their sport.

Manufacturers of sporting goods have only recently realized that women’s bodies are not simply small men’s bodies, and that there are uncomfortable aesthetic differences in sportswear with enormous social implications. When Nike released its Paris track kit, there was an uproar over the persistent contrast: women wore high-waisted leotards or bikinis while the men wore shorts and leotards. It is doubtful that men would give up a performance advantage for the sake of modesty.

The recurrence of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in women’s football has led to a great deal of uninformed speculation. Moffat calls this the canary in the coal mine, revealing a larger system that is failing women. She highlights several interrelated systemic factors, including poorer playing surfaces, a gender playing gap that means fewer young girls are playing with the ball in the garden or park and developing their agility early, less access to physiotherapy or nutritional advice, football boots that are not yet made for women’s feet, the unknown impact of hormones on the sport and less well-developed pathways to elite levels.

The parallels across all sports are clear. England Netball, British Cycling and the Football Association have formed groundbreaking partnerships with The Well to create sustainable change – this is on the agenda of most sports, but progress seems too slow.

So let us pay tribute to all those who have contributed to the progress of women’s sport, in Paris and in our communities. But let us also look to our schools, clubs and sports centres and call on governing bodies, sports equipment manufacturers and ministers to redouble all efforts and ambitions to achieve a deeper level of equality in sport.