The Transnational Working Group for the Study of Gender and Sport first convened in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2005 and has since held fourteen conferences and annual meetings focused on gender and sport, with the most recent taking place in 2022 in Bodø, Norway. The purpose of the group is to advance the study of the issues concerning gender and sport from the cultural, political, educational and social perspectives and to facilitate the transnational and interdisciplinary scholarship in the field. Furthermore, the group places strong emphasis on mentoring young scholars in sport studies.

The 15th Meeting of the Transnational Working Group for the Study of Gender and Sport will take place from October 14 to 16 2026 at the Institute for Sports Science, University Göttingen, Germany
organized by the Department of Gender Studies and the Department of Sports and Health Sociology. The topic of this year’s conference is “20 Years of Gender in Sport – Progresses and Backlashes”.


Call for Papers

Call for Papers:
Since the inception of the Transnational Working Group for the Study of Gender and Sport in 2005, much has changed in the field of gender and sport, both in research and in practice. Recently, there has been an increase in research focusing on gender discrimination in sport, including research on the situation of trans and non-binary athletes. While discriminatory and misogynistic debates about strong women in sport persist, as seen in discussions surrounding boxer Imane Khelif at the 2024 Olympics, we are also witnessing a growing wave of international solidarity with female athletes like her in addition to critical public discourse around restrictions on femininity in sport. Notably, promising signs of change are also emerging in traditionally androcentric fields, such as sports medicine and exercise science. Research and public debates are increasingly addressing issues such as menstruation and pregnancy in sport, challenging long-standing gender biases. At the same time, global political trends, reflect a resurgence of a strong movement towards a new cultivation of hegemonic masculinity and queerphobia, which inevitably affect the field of gender and sport.
Twenty years after the founding of the Transnational Working Group for the Study of Gender and Sport, we invite reflection and discussion around the following questions:

• What his(or her-)stories of gender in sport can be observed?
• What historical breakthroughs and victories for gender equality in sport have occurred, and what continuities or backlashes remain?
• What insights can an intersectional perspective offer on gender within sport practices and sports policies?
• What are the future directions for research and practice concerning gender equality in sport?

The conference welcomes presentations on a broad range of topics related to progress, setbacks and ambivalent trends in the field of gender and sport over the past 20 years and beyond, such as:

• Gender equity and sustainability
• LGBTIQ+ experiences and queer approaches
• Race and intersectionality
• Gender and parasports
• Discrimination, harassment and abuse
• New technologies, innovation and elite sport
• Coaching and refereeing
• Gender and sport media
• Policies and governance
• Youth sport, physical activity and physical education
• Other issues related to gender and sport

Abstract Submission Guidelines

• Authors should submit their abstracts in English.
• Abstract must be send via mail to: genderandsport2026@uni-goettingen.de.
• The submission deadline for all abstracts is 1 March 2026.
• Abstracts should not exceed 250 words.
• Contributions may be conceptual/theoretical, empirical, or methodological in nature or may present projects or policies that engage with gendered issues in sport.
• In addition to empirically oriented presentations, we encourage the submission of conceptual and theoretical works.
• Abstracts will be reviewed by the members of the conference’s local organizing committee.
• Presenting authors need to register for and attend the congress.
• All authors agree that their abstracts will be published in the book of abstracts online.