Janet Evans, five-time Olympic medalist and LA 2024 Vice Chair, talked about the Los Angeles’ bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games commitment to advancing women’s equality in sport at Mayor Eric Garcetti’s inaugural State of Women & Girls Address and Young Women’s Assembly Tuesday.
The event was held at USC’s campus, the site of LA 2024’s proposed Media Village, Main Press Center and temporary state-of-the-art aquatics facility where more than 700 Angeleno girls, young women and trans-youth attended. At the event there were in-depth conversations, panels and presentations on the state of women’s equality in Los Angeles.
The Young Women’s Assembly featured civic and thought leaders leading workshops, leadership training, and panel discussions exploring the achievements, challenges and opportunities for women in the business, entertainment, finance, technology and public sectors.
LA 2024 called the event a reflection of LA 2024’s Women in Sport commitment, which was released on International Women’s Day, and says the commitment enshrines LA 2024’s policies designed to enable women throughout the Olympic and Paralympic Movements to achieve their goals in sport and in life.
Evans said “it was an honour to join Mayor Eric Garcetti and LA First Lady Amy Elaine Wakeland today for the first-ever LA State of Women & Girls Address and Young Women’s Assembly. Angelenos are not only united behind our dream of bringing the Games back to the US for the first time in 28 years, but also behind our desire to see women competing on equal footing with men in every aspect of life. When women succeed, we all succeed.”
“LA 2024 is fully committed to promoting women’s equality in and through sport throughout the build-up to the Games and beyond – because a better Games and stronger Olympic and Paralympic Movement for women means a better Games and strong Olympic and Paralympic Movements for everybody.”
Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles added “we were honoured to have several Olympians in our Young Women’s Assembly – they showed us that to ‘Compete Like a Woman’ means excelling and overcoming obstacles in everything you do. These remarkable athletes embody the power of hard work and determination to make big dreams come true, and offered inspiration and a path forward to the hundreds of young women who attended this inaugural event”.
LA is competing with Paris for the 2024 Games. The host city will be selected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) September 13 in Lima, Peru.
