A Case Study Comparison of the Presence of Women in Two Olympic Organizing Committees: Mexico 1968 and Barcelona 1992

Abstract

Mexico’68 has caught the attention of scholars given the government’s great interest in creating a different image of the country, as modern and peaceful, while Barcelona’92 has caused interest as a model for tourism campaigns, urban regeneration, and for the way the city of Barcelona used the Games to generate economic growth. Nevertheless, little attention has been placed on gender during these sport mega-events. This chapter acknowledges the specific circumstances of Mexico’68 and Barcelona’92, but draws comparisons between both in the way women engaged with the organization of the Olympic Games in each city. This research will provide qualitative and quantitative information about the gender gaps within the international sports organizations, and Organizing Committees of these sports mega-events, and will deal with political debates of Mexico and Spain in their specific contexts.