A gaping gender gap in Winter Paralympic Games continues with CanadaB次元官网网址檚 team reflecting that imbalance.

The International Paralympic Committee trumpeted a record number of women competing in Beijing, but 138 still represents just 24 per cent of 564 international athletes.

By comparison, 45 per cent of athletes competing in BeijingB次元官网网址檚 Winter Olympics were women.

CanadaB次元官网网址檚 Paralympic team of 48, including guides, features 13 women for 27 per cent.

There were originally 14 women on the team, but a skier withdrew from womenB次元官网网址檚 alpine racing because of injury.

BeijingB次元官网网址檚 10-day Paralympic Games opened Friday and close March 13.

Gender disparity wasnB次元官网网址檛 as pronounced in last summerB次元官网网址檚 Tokyo Paralympics with 42 per cent of participating athletes female.

Over half of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 128 athletes in Tokyo were women with 71 accounting for 55 per cent of the team.

ThatB次元官网网址檚 due in part to Canada qualifying in three womenB次元官网网址檚 team sports.

The elephant in the Winter Paralympic Games room is Para hockey, which was previously referred to as sledge hockey. ItB次元官网网址檚 the only large-team sport and itB次元官网网址檚 male.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 no question that the team sport and the team sport skewing is kind of a number one kind of challenge,B次元官网网址� Canadian Paralympic Committee president Karen OB次元官网网址橬eill told The Canadian Press from Beijing.

The IPC slapped a B次元官网网址渕ixedB次元官网网址� label on Para hockey before the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C.

But only three women B次元官网网址� two Norwegians and one Chinese B次元官网网址� have ever been on a Paralympic Games roster.

The host countryB次元官网网址檚 Jing Yu is the lone woman on a Para hockey team in Beijing. Rosters are 17 players, but countries can bring an 18th if that player is a woman.

Canada is one of few countries alongside the United States and Britain with established national womenB次元官网网址檚 Para hockey teams.

Women wanting to play Para hockey at its highest level B次元官网网址� the Paralympic Games is their Stanley Cup B次元官网网址� currently have to make a male roster.

B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 whatB次元官网网址檚 being told to girls and women around the world is B次元官网网址極K, letB次元官网网址檚 see you crack those top rosters and get there because thatB次元官网网址檚 your only option,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� said Tara Chisholm, who coaches the Canadian womenB次元官网网址檚 para hockey team.

B次元官网网址淚 know our women who are watching the Paralympic Games this week are wishing they had the same opportunities that those men that they play with back home on their club teams are having this week.B次元官网网址�

While a womenB次元官网网址檚 world Para hockey challenge is scheduled for this summer, more participating countries are needed for a legitimate world championship and thus entry into the Paralympic Games.

Chisholm doesnB次元官网网址檛 expect the latter to happen in time for the 2026 Winter Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy, with 2030 the better bet.

Andrea Bundon, an associate professor at the University of British Columbia, studies the Paralympic Games gender gap because of her experience guiding visually-impaired Para-Nordic skiers Courtney Knight (2010) in Whistler and Margarita Gorbounova (2014) in Sochi, Russia.

B次元官网网址淭hey had a strong preference for a female guide,B次元官网网址� Bundon said. B次元官网网址淢any of the guides are men. The reason being is itB次元官网网址檚 kind of easier to find a man who is faster than you than to find a woman who is faster than you, but not herself racing.

B次元官网网址淚 believe I was one of two female guides in Sochi. WeB次元官网网址檙e lining up at the start line, and despite this being a womenB次元官网网址檚 event, thereB次元官网网址檚 a lot of men on the start line.

B次元官网网址淭hat got us looking around more generally at who is at the Games? Why are we seeing so few women as athletes, as coaches, managers, wax technicians. Where are the women?B次元官网网址�

There are 39 medal events for men, 35 for women and four mixed events in BeijingB次元官网网址檚 Paralympic Games.

Introducing mixed gender events like relays doesnB次元官网网址檛 necessarily increase the number of women participating, Bundon said.

B次元官网网址淭hey create balance in the number of medals available to men and women, but they donB次元官网网址檛 create any more spots on the team,B次元官网网址� she explained. B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e using athletes that are already there. You have the same female athlete with one more race.

B次元官网网址淚t doesnB次元官网网址檛 create incentive for the nations to develop more pathways for women or to support more women.B次元官网网址�

Domestically, the CPC runs a recruitment combine called Paralympian Search, similar to the Canadian Olympic CommitteeB次元官网网址檚 Training Ground, in which athletes from across the country are put through power, speed and endurance tests to match them with a sport.

B次元官网网址淲e realized many women and young girls were just not coming out,B次元官网网址� OB次元官网网址橬eill said.

A womenB次元官网网址檚 pilot project in 2021, which was virtual because of the COVID-19 pandemic, drew over 30 applications, she said.

B次元官网网址淏ecause of the experience from that, and the numbers, we knew that we need to pursue this,B次元官网网址� OB次元官网网址橬eill said.

The IPC committed almost two decades ago to a goal of 30 per cent women in leadership positions.

B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e still not even close to that,B次元官网网址� Bundon said.

OB次元官网网址橬eill says there is more gender parity in technical roles such as coaching on the summer side than winter, but more work has to be done on that front overall.

B次元官网网址淲hen we look at the data and we look at some of the barriers, cultural and societal came up within the top three still,B次元官网网址� she said.

OB次元官网网址橬eill believes a successful Vancouver bid for the 2030 Winter Games would give Canada a role in accelerating women in the Winter Paralympic movement, particularly if womenB次元官网网址檚 Para hockey is on the menu.

B次元官网网址淚 think something as focused as the 2030 bid to bring and shine a light on women in Paralympic sport, hosted by Canada, would be an incredible incentive to further close that gap, and use the runway of the next eight years to invest in the technical, the participation in some targeted areas, that I think would raise the bar and set a new standard,B次元官网网址� she said.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press

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