The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced the members of its commissions for 2020, which has shown a year-on-year progression towards gender equality.

Women now hold 47.7% of positions across the 30 commissions, rising from 45.4% in 2019, meaning the female membership of the IOC is at an all-time high.  One of the key focuses of the IOC’s Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms was to encourage the whole Olympic Movement to advance gender equality both on and off the field.

Female participation in the IOC has more than doubled since 2013, rising from 20% to 47.7%.

This year’s IOC commission week is scheduled from 2-8 November, with the decision of whether it will be held in person or remotely to be made at a later stage.

The 2020 IOC commissions’ composition, which is established by the IOC President working in conjunction with the IOC Executive Board, also includes the appointment of two new female chairs. Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul, IOC Member in Thailand, has been appointed Chair of the Culture and Olympic Heritage Commission, and Zhang Hong, IOC Member in China, will be the Chair of the newly-formed IOC Coordination Commission for the 4th Winter Youth Olympic Games Gangwon 2024.

This brings the total number of commissions chaired by women to 11 out of 30, around 36.7%.

Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul became the first Thai woman to be elected as an IOC Member in 2017, at the 131st IOC Session in Lima, Peru. She currently holds the position of Deputy President of the Badminton World Federation and is Chair of the Culture Committee at the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). She brings a wealth of experience from both the sporting and cultural domains to her new role and has been a member of the IOC Culture and Olympic Heritage Commission since 2018.

Zhang Hong won the first ever speed skating Olympic gold medal for China at the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014. In 2015, she became a Promotion Ambassador for Beijing’s bid to host the Olympic Winter Games 2022. At the 132nd IOC Session in PyeongChang, Zhang was elected onto the IOC Athletes’ Commission. She is also a member of the Athletes’ Entourage Commission and was a member of the Evaluation Commission for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games 2026.

IOC President, Thomas Bach, said: “Advancing women in leadership roles in sport is truly a team effort, and I want to thank all those who have contributed to this for their continued support, commitment and inspiration.

“There is always more that can be done, and we can make progress only if we work on this together.

“By increasing female participation in IOC commissions and the number of female chairs on IOC commissions, the IOC is hearing the female voice more and more and ensuring that women and girls can be empowered by using the powerful platform that sport provides to promote gender equality.”

A full list of all the commissions can be found here.