Courage was the theme of the 20th edition of the Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society, held this week in Paris.
On Thursday and Friday, business leaders, athletes, campaigners and policymakers gathered to discuss equality, empowerment and persistent violence and discrimination that affect women in all walks of life.
Since 2005, the Forum has offered an independent platform for women to exchange ideas on economic and social issues.
This year highlighted how far progress has come and how far there still is to go.
Pay gaps endure, survivors of sexual violence say they are not believed and choose not to report crimes and in sport, many athletes remain exposed to harassment and sexism.
One of the forum’s topics was sport seen as both a vehicle for empowerment and a sector where visibility, sexism, and violence remain significant challenges.
“When you look at women’s sports, it doesn’t get the attention that men’s sport does. And there is no reason that that should be the case. The work that women do to be at the highest level of sport is equal to what men are doing,” said Nanette Lafond Dufour, President of the Women’s Forum.
She also addressed the prevalence of harassment in sport.
“One in three young women face sexist or sexual harassment in sport,” she told Euronews.
Voices from the frontline of that fight were stark. Afghan taekwondo champion and refugee Marzieh Hamidi, who fled the Taliban and now lives in France under police protection after receiving death and rape threats, used the forum to call for international attention to female athletes living under repressive regimes.
“It’s really important to use my platform to talk about the situation in Afghanistan and to be the voice for those who are voiceless, like the young girls in Afghanistan who have no freedom,” Hamidi said.
“I’m continuing this fight. It’s not easy. I’m paying with my mental health. I’m lost in life. I don’t feel good. I’m depressed. But I want to fight because it’s my duty as a human being,” she said in comments to Euronews.
Angélique Cauchy, a former French tennis star who was raped between the ages of 12 and 14 by her coach, now runs the NGO Rebond alongside electricity company Engie, which works to prevent abuse in sport.
“At every tournament we partner with, we run awareness actions aimed at a targeted audience such as coaches, leaders, volunteers, young people or parents. The goal is for everyone to learn to recognise, report, and prevent violence against minors in sport,” Cauchy said.
She added that awareness alone is not enough.
“I would like to see what has been done in companies that lead to draft laws, so these ideas are taken to parliament. When you legislate, these initiatives become the norm, and that is how we will change society,” she explained.
For many participants, the next steps are not new ideas but enforcement and scale, turning pilots into policy, promises into funding and awareness into mandatory protections.