Paul Rouse: Women struggling to have their voices heard in corridors of Olympic power

Yoshiro Mori, the president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee, speaks at a news conference last week. He came under scrutiny for comments made about women serving in board positions in organising committees. Picture: AP

The words of the head of the Tokyo Organising Committee for this year’s Olympic Games, Yoshiro Mori, left no doubt of how he views women. He told a meeting of the Japanese Olympic Committee board of trustees: “If we increase the number of female board members, we have to make sure their speaking time is restricted somewhat, they have difficulty finishing, which is annoying.”

To underline his point Mori also said: “We have about seven women at the organising committee but everyone understands their place.”