The Paris Olympics will be the first to see an equal number of men and women competing. The same can't be said for female coaches, with an ambitious target now set to achieve gender parity by 2032.
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00:00 These young hockey players in Queensland are coached by an Olympic champion.
00:07 Former hockey roo Angie Lambert never lost her passion for the game
00:11 when she retired from playing professionally.
00:15 So I started doing individual sessions, you know, small group sessions
00:18 just with local kids and then I didn't see a career for myself in coaching.
00:23 While her transition was organic, Margot Wilton's moved hemispheres
00:27 to pursue her passion for mentoring elite beach volleyballers.
00:31 How are you going to manage that?
00:32 She's one of just three women coaching on the sports international circuit.
00:36 There are multiple corporate jobs where females are leading
00:40 so why wouldn't we do that in sport?
00:42 The same question's being raised by the International Olympic Committee
00:45 which will achieve gender parity among athletes for the first time in Paris next year.
00:50 The number of female competitors has been steadily increasing at each Games
00:54 since London 2012. The number of female coaches is much lower and remains stagnant.
01:01 If you can't see it, you can't be it and so naturally a lot of us think,
01:05 you know, the best coaches out there are men.
01:07 The Australian Institute of Sports developed a mentoring program
01:10 aiming to break down barriers.
01:12 So let's get maybe three or four in yellow.
01:15 The imposter syndrome where you feel like as a female
01:17 you have to work so much harder to prove yourself.
01:20 Coaches also recognise it's a role that requires a round-the-clock commitment.
01:25 You're also 24/7 available for your family and your kids.
01:29 It's hard to combine this.
01:31 But the leadership landscape is changing with a goal to have
01:34 equal representation among Australian coaches by Brisbane 2032.
01:39 [BLANK_AUDIO]