Ann Stock
Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs
Friday, February 17, 2012
Los Angeles, CA
(As Prepared)

Thank you. Good morning.

Members of the International Olympic Committee, the United States Olympic Committee, the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games, your Excellencies, distinguished guests.

I am Ann Stock, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs.

On behalf of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, I am honored to join you today for the International Olympic Committee's World Conference on Women and Sport.

It's humbling to be among so many trailblazers who embody the Olympic spirit and encourage peaceful competition around the world.

A special thank-you to: IOC President Count Jacques Rogge, USOC Chairman Larry Probst, and CEO Scott Blackmun for your leadership.

I would also like to thank Anita DeFrantz, a force of nature who has done groundbreaking work as Chair of the IOC Women in Sports Commission. Her efforts support all of ours.

The collective drive to ensure that every girl can play sports —regardless of her socio-economic status, race, or talent—is powerful. It's one that will make a difference on the playing field. And, it will transform our communities, our cultures, our countries, and, yes, our world.

A 2007 United Nations report noted that sports can be a key tool for social and economic empowerment—especially for women and girls. The evidence consistently proves women and girls who play sports find success in all walks of life.

• Girls' participation in sports correlates directly to higher education and employment. A single year of primary education translates into a 10 to 20 percent increase in her wages. And a single year of secondary education results in a 15-25 percent increase;
• Through sports, girls learn to lead and make decisions; and
• Sports bring people together and fosters greater understanding.

The fact is, sports empower women and girls. We need to harness that power through more engagement, on and off the field. Everywhere, at every opportunity. The United States is committed to achieving this goal because we know firsthand what it can mean for individuals and for nations.

Our country—and in turn, the world—has been inspired by so many women who have taken the Olympic podium. A young gymnast from coal country who won Olympic gold. A mother who out-swam her competitors in five different Olympics. And two sisters from right here in Los Angeles who teamed up on the tennis court to bring home matching Olympic medals.

The power of these stories—and of athletics—is inspirational. And more than that, it's empowering.

That is why, under Secretary Clinton's leadership, the U.S. Department of State is mobilizing every tool at its disposal to connect with women and girls through sports.

In the United States, and everywhere around the world, we are deploying a new approach to our diplomatic efforts: what Secretary Clinton calls "smart power diplomacy."

Smart power is not just a catchphrase.  It is a method and an attitude.  Whether it is reducing nuclear weapons or increasing scholarships for international students, the United States is using every tool available – and creating new ones – to strengthen our relationships with countries worldwide.

In Secretary Clinton's vision of smart power, we cannot rely only on traditional forms of government-to-government diplomacy. To create greater understanding in the 21st century, we must pursue innovative ideas through people-to-people diplomacy.

Since this is an Olympic year and the 40th anniversary of Title IX, a groundbreaking U.S. law that defined equal opportunity, now is the time for the Department of State to redouble our efforts in over 190 countries to engage women and girls through sports.

And today, I am proud to announce the United States' Empowering Women and Girls Through Sports Initiative.

It has three major components: Sports Mentorship, Sports Envoys, and Sports Visitors.

Secretary Clinton has long recognized the success of mentoring. It's one of the most powerful ways leaders can "keep giving and giving and giving to those who come after."

We've channeled that power into flagship mentoring programs like the FORTUNE Most Powerful Women Summit and TechWomen, our new, cutting-edge mentoring program with countries in North Africa and the Middle East.

Today, we add the Empowering Women and Girls Through Sports Initiative to that list.

Through this effort, the Department of State will bring women sports leaders from their home countries to connect with their American counterparts here. Kicking off in September, this program uses Title IX as a template to create athletic opportunities for women and girls everywhere. They'll also learn about sports management and ways to develop sustainable female sports programs in their home countries.

Next, the Sports Envoy program, one of our most popular exchanges, will send dozens of American female athletes, coaches, and administrators around the globe. Wherever they go, our envoys will meet with young athletes to take what they learn on the field and apply those lessons in life.

In fact, as part of the Empowering Women and Girls Through Sports Initiative, our first envoys are heading overseas today. In partnership with U.S. Soccer, Danielle Slaton, a former member of the U.S. Women's National Team and Cheryl Bailey, the team's former manager, will coach young women in Malaysia.

Later this year, more of our American athletes, many of them Olympians, will fan out to Algeria, Argentina, Morocco, and Venezuela. They'll teach leadership skills and teamwork, instill confidence, and help young players build relationships.

The Sports Visitors program is the third pillar of this initiative. It brings young girls and female coaches from the Caribbean, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Nicaragua, Thailand, Tunisia, Ukraine, and Zimbabwe to the United States. Here, they will get to know their American counterparts on the field, on the court, in the swimming pool, and other venues.

In order to achieve this progress for women and girls worldwide, the United States recognizes the importance of bringing strong private partners to the table. The USOC, numerous professional U.S. sports leagues, the National Sports Federations, and many other organizations that support youth programs are key players in these efforts.

With our partners, the United States can better engage with the sports world and its players. We're grateful to our existing partners for their leadership and generosity, and of course we are always seeking new ones. Only with a whole-of-society approach can we tackle the inequalities that still persist in athletics.

As Secretary Clinton often says, we cannot achieve global progress if we leave half of the population behind. That applies to sports, too. Just last year before the Women's World Cup, she reemphasized the need to encourage even more people to get behind women and girls in sports.

We need to give young women a chance to compete on the playing field and be the best they can be. And, we need more and more women around the world able to pursue their God-given potential.

That is what guides us and our work.

With the Empowering Women and Girls Through Sports Initiative, the United States will continue to actively engage governments and citizens, corporations and coaches, and men and the media to ensure that every woman and girl in the world has the chance to pursue—and achieve—her dreams.

Thank you.