Chaired by National Olympic Committee of Lithuania (LTOK) President Daina Gudzinevičiūtė, the meeting was also attended by Azerbaijan's Konul Nurullayeva, Denmark's Tine Tellmann and Latvia's Ineta Radevič,

Russian Olympic Committee secretary general and five-time Olympic champion synchronised swimmer Anastasia Davydova was also present.

Another Russian, Tatyana Lebedeva, the Athens 2004 Olympic long jump champion was also at the meeting as a representative of the EOC Athletes' Commission.

Members first shared their experiences regarding sporting gender equality in their own countries, before working goals, plan actions and collective responsibilities were set out.

Within the 50 European NOCs, only two Presidents are women - Gudzinevičiūtė and Bulgaria's Stefka Kostadinova - while there are only eight female secretary generals.

Claudia Bokel is one of the top female sporting administrators in Europe
©Getty Images



Two of the four female members of the International Olympic Committee's ruling Executive Board are European however, Sweden's Gunilla Lindberg and Germany's IOC Athletes' Commission chair Claudia Bokel.

Raising these numbers is a major aim, with strengthening female self-confidence at to their leadership abilities highlighted as key in encouraging them to pursue a career.

The Commission also visited the European Institute for Gender Equality during their visit, the organisation established by the European Parliament and European Council in 2007 in Brussels, now based in Vilnius.

The group is one of eight EOC Commissions, with Gudzinevičiūtė appointed chair until 2017 last August.

Contact the writer of this story at nick.butler@insidethegames.biz


Related stories
August 2014: European Olympic Committee announces Commission chairs