Dawn Aquilina, Institute of Sport and Leisure Policy, Loughborough University, UK, writes:

It is very encouraging to read about the recent appointment of a third woman, Dr Lucienne Attard, to the MOC Executive Board. It not only brings the MOC up to the IOC-established minimum targets for women's membership of NOC set-ups, of 20 per cent for 2005, but is also a considerable boost for all those women involved in the Maltese sports sector today.

Having recently worked on a survey for the International Olympic Committee on Women, Leadership and the Olympic Movement, it is clear that the majority of women sitting on NOCs around the world are extremely well qualified in sporting or academic terms (and often in both), as is the case for the three female members of the MOC elected a few weeks ago.

However, the survey also indicates that one of the issues which faces women when appointed has been that they are not necessarily given roles and responsibilities which reflect their capacities.

I therefore look forward to seeing Dr Attard, Laurie Pace and Marie Therese Zammit, in particular, to continue to bring their expertise into their role and also urge them to be advocates to address the shortage of women in decision-making roles within our national sport federations.

For anyone who wishes to refer to the final report on Women, Leadership and the Olympic Movement, January 2004, one may log on to http://www.olympic.org.uk.