07 August 2025
Sex Testing on Trial
Two global sport governing bodies – World Athletics and World Boxing – decided to institute genetic testing. Both now require all athletes intending to compete in women’s events to undergo a genetic test. The intent is to exclude some women, including those with certain congenital “differences of sex development”, from women’s sport. This revives an old model – last widely used in 1990s – which was deemed unscientific, unethical, and ultimately unworkable. In today’s legal landscape, this renewed approach faces even more pitfalls. Continue reading >>
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12 January 2021
Weaving the Law
How do norms get transformed and do new norms emerge from legal interactions? This panel looks at this question with three different case studies of actors weaving different legalities together: World Athletics’ engagement with the norm of gender equality; UNCLOS courts’ and tribunals’ consideration of broader norms of ocean governance; and the impact of corporate social responsibility norms on WTO law. Continue reading >>
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07 July 2019
FIFA for Women or Women for FIFA? The Inherent Tensions of FIFA’s Women’s Football Strategy
How does FIFA purport to address and overcome its historical and ongoing record of institutional disregard for, and discrimination against, women? Its primary weapon appears to be the recently adopted Women’s Football Strategy, designed to “empower the organisation to take further concrete steps to address the historic shortfalls in resources and representation, while advocating for a global stand against gender discrimination through playing football”. This may seem an ambitious compound goal, seeking to advance gender equality within FIFA, football and beyond. But what promise does the Women’s Football Strategy actually hold in this regard? Continue reading >>
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