Sport, equality & discrimination – the year in review 2020/21

It never ceases to amaze me when I come to write this piece just how many issues roll on from year to year.  I hope that in years to come I will look back to an edition from 10 years previously and say with satisfaction that things are solved in this regard or improved in that respect.  The pace of change can feel frustratingly slow.

Last year was dominated by Covid-19 and the ground swell of support from the Black Lives Matter movement for tackling racism in all sectors of society including sport.  In this year’s review I propose to consider the progress made on the issues highlighted last year[1] and also to look at the new issues emerging. In particular I will:

• consider gender equality issues;
• explore where we are with issues of race in sport; and
• highlight some issues around disability discrimination.