The Women in Sport Commission has been renamed the Gender Equality Commission by the BOA. The initiative, which came into effect last month, is in line with the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) 2022 decision to rename its Women in Sport Commission the Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Commission.

BOA President Sandra Osborne said the move followed the IOC's lead. She also pointed out that the renamed commission will continue to support and empower women while advocating for gender equality in all aspects of sport.

"We haven't gone as far as the IOC in not adding diversity and inclusion to our name, but the change from 'Women in Sport' to 'Gender Equality' gives us the opportunity to strive for gender balance across the spectrum of our activities, while also focusing on addressing the fact that the participation of women and girls in sport has lagged behind in some areas, not as athletes, but in leadership and technical areas," said the BOA President.

Meanwhile, chairperson of the Gender Equality Commission, Marsha Boyce, explained that the commission's mandate is the promotion of gender equality in sport both on and off the field. 

"We do this through a wide range of activities, from our flagship event, the Esther Maynard Icon Award, which recognises the outstanding long-term contribution of Barbadian women in sport, to other initiatives that seek to empower women and girls through sport. We will continue to advocate for equitable representation in governance and leadership, in the distribution of resources and in the portrayal of women in the media, among other areas," she said.

Gender equality plays an important role in the BOA's strategic plan. The plan recognises the role of sport in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and advocates for meaningful representation of women in governance and leadership within the Olympic Movement and Commonwealth Sport in Barbados. 

The members of the rebranding committee are Marsha Boyce (Chair), Mona Alleyne, Shawn Simpson, Ytannia Wiggins, Althea Belgrave (National Federation Representative), Fabian Norgrove (Athlete Representative), Fabian Sargeant and Vaneisha Cadogan (non-voting).