The Tokyo Olympics organizing committee will add 12 women to its executive board as a symbolic move towards gender equality by increasing the ratio of female representatives from 20% to 42%.
The number of the members of the board has been increased from 35 to 45 to accommodate the additional women. Several resignations on Tuesday also created room for the new female members. The board will now have 19 women among its 45 members.
CEO Toshiro Muto announced the decision on a news conference after an executive board meeting on Tuesday. the names of the new members will be revealed after official approval on Wednesday.
Seiko Hashimoto, a seven-time Olympian, promised to increase women’s participation on the committee’s executive board, when she became president of the organizing committee on February.
Hashimoto stated at Tuesday’s board meeting, “Regarding the promotion of gender equality, we believe that it is necessary to work with a sense of speed and produce solid results in order to restore the trust in the organizing committee”.
Ms Hashimoto took over the chair after the committee’s former president Yoshiro Mori stepped down last month after making sexist comments about female board members.
Ms Hashimoto will join a teleconference on Wednesday with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach and other officials to discuss measures against the coronavirus pandemic and whether fans will be allowed into Olympic venues.
The Summer Olympics will open on July 23, after being postponed for a year due to the pandemic.
