Announcing the Women in Chess Foundation

Women have long made up an embarrassingly low percentage of chess players worldwide, comprising only around 15% of FIDE-registered players. At least one of the reasons for this sad state of affairs is the harassment that women consistently face in the chess world. This misconduct can range from simple rudeness, or not being seen as peers by their male colleagues, all the way up to violent assaults. In this kind of environment it's hardly surprising that chess struggles to recruit women players.

Recent years have seen a disturbing number of stories of the shameful treatment that women face in the chess world and the ineffective response of existing chess organisations to this problem. The fact that these stories have become public shows slow progress, but it isn’t enough.. It is clear from this year’s events alone that existing institutions using existing ways of doing business cannot be relied upon to change the situation. New institutions will be required to push chess in a new direction.

On 9 October 2023, we launched the Women in Chess Foundation to allow women and their allies in the chess world to defend themselves directly. The principal activity of this new foundation will be the advocate program. Foundation volunteers, called “advocates” will be trained and deployed to chess events to assist anyone facing harassment or discrimination. Advocates will offer information about victim rights and the resources available. A victim of harassment can feel overwhelmed and may not be in the best state of mind to effectively advocate for themselves. In that situation, a knowledgeable ally is invaluable.

The training of these advocates has already begun, and our foundation is on track to have at least 50 certified advocates in 12 countries by the end of the year. According to WICF president Emilia Castelao: "Advocates are trained in how to deal with issues of misconduct, harassment or bullying, along with navigating the often complex complaints procedures that chess federations have. We hope this will mean that people at chess tournaments will always have somewhere to turn."

Anyone who is at least 18 years of age and can pass a background check can become an advocate, including men. The foundation's board of directors features names from Lichess, Chess.com, and Chessable. WGM Jennifer Shahade is an advisory member, and nine-times British Women's Chess Champion IM Jovanka Houska is also on the board. The foundation is a registered 501c3 charity.

On the WICF website you can find out how to become an advocate, how to report issues, or how to donate to the cause. We all deserve to feel safe at the chess board.

Links
https://www.womeninchess.com/
https://twitter.com/womeninchess/
https://www.facebook.com/WomenInChessFoundation/
https://www.instagram.com/womeninchessfoundation