The United Nations Women have joined forces with International Association Football Federation (FIFA) to promote gender equality in the Women World Cup from Thursday, July 20.
The games which will take place in Australia and New Zealand will run for one month until August 20.
The UN Women and FIFA are coming together during the games to celebrate the skills and achievements of the achievements of the teams and players.
Further, they want to advance gender equality in football, and to prevent abuse and discrimination on and off the field.
According to a press statement by the United Nations on Wednesday, July 19, worldwide, women players continue to snuggle with fewer professional opportunities, a massive pay gap, fewer sponsorships, less airtime, and unequal playing conditions.
Furthermore, when women players succeed, they face a back lash of abuse online and offline.
To address some of these challenges and advance in closing the gender in football, FIFA raised the prize money for the 2023 Women’s World Cup to 150 million, triple the amount in 2019.
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The Call to Action during Women World Cup
Under this umbrella, UN Women is partnering with FIFA on two calls to actions. First is to Unite for gender equality as a fundamental human right and as a critical for a peaceful and sustainable world.
Additionally, to Unite for Ending Violence Against Women, this a call to end violence against women and girls as the most pervasive human rights violation worldwide.
The United Nations Women Executive Director Sima Bahous said the women participating in the world Cup are role models to the many women in the world.
“The women competing in this World Cup are role models for every girl on this planet. Their strength and skills are inspirational.”
At the same time, the tournament is a reminder that there are too many women and girls who do not take part in the world of sport, and that even for those who do participate too often experience discriminatory treatment and, even in some cases, abuse.
“The Women’s World Cup shows us how much not only they but the entire world misses when we fail to afford women and girls the same opportunities as men and boys.
Our partnership with FIFA, including on the global ‘Football Unites the World’ campaign, reflects a serious commitment and ambition to address that for everyone’s benefit,” said Sima Bahous.
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Messaging during Women World Cup
Furthermore, the parties will promote the two calls to action on gender equality through the team captains’ armbands, pitch side digital LED boards, large flags presented on the pitch, giant screens in stadiums, and via social media.
“Unite for Gender Equality” will be the featured message on match day 3 (30 July – 3 August 2023) and “Unite to End Violence against Women” will be the designated message during the Semi-Final (16 August 2023).
The Women’s World Cup is about women players scoring amazing goals, but the most important goal of all is gender equality.
Five other UN agencies have joined the “Football Unites the World” cause activation, including UNESCO, UNHCR, UN Human Rights Commission, World Food Programme, and World Health Organization.
More than two billion people are likely to watch the tournament —the largest audience in history for a single women’s sport.
This offers an opportunity to celebrate women’s achievement in sport and to move the needle, both for women’s football and for gender equality.
