December 1, 2019
Empowerment is the process of increasing the capacity of individuals or groups to make choices and to transform those choices into desired actions and outcomes. Empowerment is a process. Through the process, an individual becomes an agent of change. More simply put, it’s the “can do” factor, going from “I can’t” to “I can.”
Empowering females is powerful. Today, we know it is the key to economic growth, political stability, and social transformation. In the context of sports, female empowerment is the missing link to greater stability, greater diversity and increased sport excellence. Several professional leagues are pushing for female empowerment and promoting the need for females to acquire the status of an equal partner in sports (and in life for that matter).
This month we discuss female empowerment in sports, how it can be achieved and its effects on female athletes. More than ever before, today’s young women have more choices and have more control in their lives. They have the most choices in education, but unfortunately the least in career choices. Women in sports want to be able to change and improve their careers and income, but also their personal development (physical, mental and habitual). In order to do so, they need to have the support from institutions, from male counterparts, from governments and the society. But above all, they must identify this need themselves, through self-awareness!
Athena P. Constantinou
E-mail: [email protected]
