Katrina Adams named Global Winner of the 2023 IOC GEDI Award
Advantage All Chair and former ITF Vice President, Katrina Adams, has been named the Global Winner of the 2023 IOC Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (GEDI) Champions Award.
A trailblazing WTA Tour player, Adams is a woman of many firsts. She was the first African American and former professional tennis player to become Chief Executive Officer, Chairperson and President of the United States Tennis Association (USTA).
As Chair of the US Open from 2015 to 2018, she championed diversity and inclusion by launching the Hispanic initiative, which led to an immediate 15 per cent growth in the number of Latino tennis players in America.
As ITF Vice President from 2015 to 2023, she was the architect behind Advantage All. The initiative creates gender-balanced programmes under five key pillars: Empower, Balance, Culture, Value and Voice. Among its key achievements are the introduction of the Women’s Leadership Program, balanced men’s and women’s events on the World Tennis Tour, equal prize money, and gender parity on the Board of Directors. It’s an initiative that continues to deliver remarkable results.
Billie Jean King and Katrina Adams at the Champions of Equity luncheon with Jennifer Pottheiser
“I was very fortunate to have ITF President, Dave Haggerty, as a huge supporter of the Advantage All programme. He is a true example of what male allyship is all about, being a mentor and supporting the initiative, engaging other men to mentor female leaders. Under his leadership, I was able to gain much support by my peers to support our gender equality efforts across all nations.”
Adams is passionate about the value women bring to the table and their right to a seat. In 2027, at the next ITF election, at least five women and five men will be appointed to the board.
“Unless there’s diversity of thought in the room, we’re going to go around in circles,” said Adams. “We’ll never reach a different conclusion. We need women to be making decisions for other women; only then will we really start to move the needle.”
Levelling the playing field
For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, an equal number of athletes will compete at Paris 2024. The NOCs and IFs have played a key role in helping the IOC reach this milestone by driving the number of girls and women pursuing careers in sport through dedicated initiatives.
“We’ve come a long way from where the girls were once just on the sidelines, aspiring to be out there competing,” said Adams. “Now here we are on a level footing. It’s inspiration for the next generation to say to themselves, ‘Hey, I can be there; I can do that, too.’
Katrina Adams at the 2023 ITF AGM
“It starts at the amateur level. If we can make competition at the junior, youth and collegiate levels that much stronger, we can provide more opportunities for girls at a younger age to work towards becoming future Olympians.”
“Every four years, we have seen the changes, the developments and the growth to where we are bringing in equality. Paris 2024 will level the playing field, but we’re seeing so much more balance around gender beyond that, particularly with officials and events. A conscious effort has been made, but hopefully over time it’ll start to happen naturally.”
Changing the culture
What’s clear to Adams is that sport is moving in the right direction. With Advantage All also inspiring the recent announcement that the IOC and the ITF would be sending an equal number of women and men to officiate as International Technical Officials for the Paris 2024 Olympic tennis and Paralympic wheelchair tennis events, she believes sustaining such positive messaging is crucial.
“As Billie Jean King has always said, ‘You have to see it to be it’,” reflected Adams. “For the next generation who will watch the Olympic Games this summer, they’ll start to view equality as normal.
“We just need to continue to sell this messaging. We have worked so hard to reach this stage. We can’t stop; we must keep telling these positive stories. That’s where the media comes into play by making sure that there’s balance in our opinions and messaging. It’s about changing the culture of what we’re doing.”
Celebrating inspiring changemakers
Known as the IOC Women and Sport Awards from 2000 to 2021, the newly named IOC GEDI Champions Awards celebrate the outstanding work of inspiring changemakers who are committed to using their platform to promote the advancement of gender equality, diversity and inclusion in and through sport.
Six GEDI Award winners are announced each year – one at world level and one each for Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. Adams was chosen as the Global Winner in recognition of her outstanding contribution across the areas of participation, leadership, portrayal and resource allocation.
“To be recognised by the IOC as the Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Global Winner really sums up what I do,” said Adams. “I’ve tried to use my platform to not only represent my sport but to stand up for others in the world. I’m truly humbled by this honour.”
The 2023 continental winners alongside Adams are:
- Africa: Irene Limika (Kenya)
- Americas: Maria Loreto Gonzalez (Chile)
- Asia: Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala (Sri Lanka)
- Europe: Aurelie Bresson (France)
- Oceania: Patrick Johnson (Australia)
For more information on the IOC Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (GEDI) Champions Awards, click here.