More News<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Diversity, Equity & Inclusion\u00a0 \nStemming from the belief that every person has the ability \u2013 and the fundamental human right \u2013 to participate in lacrosse, World Lacrosse is committed to being a leader among global sports organizations in the area of diversity, equity and inclusion.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lacrosse\u2019s DNA is diverse, with Native American origins and the women\u2019s International Federation being formalized prior to the men\u2019s.\u202f\u00a0 \nGender Equity\u00a0 \nHistory\u00a0<\/p>\n
\tLacrosse has a long history of participation by women that equals participation by men.\u00a0 \n \tThe first school to adopt lacrosse as a women\u2019s sport was St Leonard\u2019s in St. Andrews, Scotland, in 1890. Since then, women\u2019s lacrosse developed independently from men\u2019s lacrosse, with its own rules and governing associations.\u00a0 \n \tWhereas in many sports the female version is more of an afterthought to the men\u2019s game, the origin of women\u2019s lacrosse started with its own identity. The women\u2019s international federation was formed prior to the men\u2019s federation. It wasn\u2019t until 2008 the two federations merged to form what is now World Lacrosse.\u00a0 \n \tToday, the women\u2019s game is just as, if not more, robust in participation and growth than the men\u2019s game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Leadership & Governance\u00a0<\/p>\n
\tWorld Lacrosse has a female president and vice president, putting it among a group of 10 IFs with a female president\u202f(among 75).\u00a0\u00a0 \n \tHalf of World Lacrosse\u2019s Continental Federation presidents\u202fare women.\u00a0 \n \tWorld Lacrosse employs 50 percent female staff (40 percent female director and above), with BIPOC and LGBTQ representation.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
\tIn 2020, WL created a Women in Sport Commission and Diversity & Opportunity Commission to focus, develop and help implement strategy and action points across the organization. The creation of both reflects the priority and commitment WL assigns to DEI issues, and recognition of the need to improve and support its member federations in fulfilling similar priorities.\u202f\u00a0 \n \tIn December 2020, World Lacrosse pledged its commitment to the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations\u2019 One Humanity campaign, which calls for solidarity, compassion, and unity in the face of discrimination and divisiveness.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \n \tIn 2021, World Lacrosse updated its recruitment and hiring practices with a focus on inclusion.\u00a0 \n \tIn 2021, a diversity & inclusion director was added to WL’s board. That position helps ensure that there is consistency and commitment across the organization; that WL aims for best practice in these areas, taken from a global perspective; and that the principles of equality, diversity and opportunity are understood and embedded, along with a culture of inclusion.\u202f\u00a0 \n \tIn 2022, WL partnered with the U.S. National Center for Transgender Equality to create a trans-inclusive participation policy for the organization, to be completed by year-end.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0Sport\u00a0<\/p>\n
\tWorld Lacrosse\u2019s newest discipline \u2013 Sixes \u2013 is fully equitable and exactly the same across genders.\u00a0\u00a0 \n \tWorld Lacrosse\u2019s championship-level events have been equalized with the addition of a women’s box lacrosse world championship; the organization now awards four men\u2019s and four women\u2019s world titles quadrennially.\u00a0\u00a0 \n \tWorld Lacrosse has continued to prioritize the harmonization of practices and rules across the men’s and women’s game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0Geographic Diversification\u00a0\u00a0 \nAsia\u202f<\/p>\n
\tFive new members in last year, 10 in last decade\u202f \n \tJapan won its first world-level medal at The World Games 2022\u202f \n \tChinese participation has grown 10x in the past five year<\/p>\n
Africa\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
\tAfrica Association of Lacrosse formed in February 2022\u202f\u00a0 \n \tFormed as part of\u202fLacrosse for All: Africa, an IOC-supported initiative started in early 2020 by World Lacrosse to further the development of the sport on the African continent\u202f\u00a0 \n \t100 percent membership growth in last three years \u2013 from three to six members \u2013 and anticipating five additional members by the end of 2022\u202f\u00a0 \n \tAddition of full-time Africa sport development manager on WL staff to facilitate further growth\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Latin America \/ Pan-American Lacrosse Association\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
\tSix new Latin American members in the last five years among eight total new PALA members, with many more in progress\u00a0 \n \tJamaica became the first Caribbean nation to compete in the World Lacrosse Women\u2019s Championship this summer; also competed in the Men\u2019s U21 Championship for the first time, earning a top-10 finish\u202f\u00a0 \n \tColombia recently hosted the first men\u2019s world championship qualifier in the PALA region\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0Haudenosaunee Inclusion\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
\tAs the originators of lacrosse, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy was granted membership in World Lacrosse in 1985, and has been competing as a sovereign nation since that time, and is a perennial contender across all disciplines.\u202f\u202f\u00a0 \n \tThe global lacrosse community uniformly recognizes the gift of the game of lacrosse given to the world by the Haudenosaunee, and Native American culture is acknowledged, honored and celebrated at nearly all lacrosse competitions\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
North American BIPOC Participation Growth\u202f\u00a0 \nNCAA\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
\tAccording to the NCAA Demographics Database, while NCAA lacrosse has grown by 47 percent in the last decade, participation by non-white men\u2019s and women\u2019s athletes has ballooned by 149 percent (among non-international athletes with known race\/ethnicity) with the addition of 1,922 athletes falling into the American Indian\/Alaska Native, Asian, Black, Hispanic\/Latino, Native Hawaiian\/Pacific Islander or Two or More Races categories.\u202f \n \tNCAA lacrosse has increased diversity by 71 percent (7 percent in 2012 to 12 percent in 2022). \n \tAt the professional level, BIPOC athletes have excelled in lacrosse with the highest honors; the current MVPs of the two U.S. men\u2019s pro lacrosse leagues are Black. \n \tHarlem Lacrosse serves more than 1,000 students nationwide across 19 programs in five cities \u2013 Baltimore, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles \u2013 with a focus on low-income urban communities and students who are most vulnerable to academic decline and drop out.\u202f\u00a0 \n \tThere have been a total of 5,731 participants in 70 clinics from 2017-21 as part of USA Lacrosse\u2019s Sankofa Clinic Series, which offers free youth clinics for boys and girls from underrepresented communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Additional Programming\u00a0<\/p>\n
\tWorld Lacrosse is currently in the process of working with USA Lacrosse, Wheelchair Lacrosse USA and the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks to deliver a multi-phased lacrosse program in 8-10 centers, with the objective of providing access and opportunity to underserved communities. This initiative will reflect the lacrosse community’s commitment to making the game more accessible for Californians in the lead-up to the 2028 games and beyond.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion - World Lacrosse<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n