World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe says having women in all governance structures a key element in global body's reforms

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe says a key element of his organisation’s reforms has been to recognise the importance of having women in all governance structures. [caption id=“attachment_3776965” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of Sebastian Coe. Reuters[/caption] Coe took part in a five-day online seminar for women technical officials organised earlier this month by Athletics Federation of India and South Asian Athletics Federation. More than 900 women technical officials took part in the seminar. He said: “Nothing was more important than the key element in World Athletics reforms that recognises the importance of having women in all our governance structures. “We have led the way in the work that we have been undertaking in the World Athletics Council and our Area Associations,” he was quoted as saying in the June Newsletter of the AFI. The 63-year-old Coe, a double Olympic gold medallist, also encouraged women to become technical officials in a big way. “A large part of our roadmap is to create better partnerships with the people in our sport, including technical officials, volunteers, parents, athletes and stakeholders. “The importance of making sure that while we are encouraging technical officials, we are also encouraging women to take up that role and make a massive contribution. This is a powerful step in the right direction,” he said. AFI president Adille Sumariwalla said it was Coe’s vision to have women play an equal role in the conduct of the sport.