Dare to Know: Deedee Corradini Fights for the Right to Compete

You might assume that in the year 2012, women and men would be afforded the same opportunities to compete in the Olympics...right? Not quite. Deedee Corradini has been campaigning tirelessly for gender equality at the Winter Olympic Games for over a decade—and she’s still only almost there.

Deedee served as the first female mayor of Salt Lake City from 1992 to 2000, and played an instrumental role in bringing the Olympics to the city in 2002. “We worked very hard to get women’s skeleton and women’s bobsleigh into the 2002 games,” she recalls. “Once we had won those battles, I thought we had gender equal Games. No one had ever brought up ski jumping.” It wasn’t until a chance meeting with ski jumper Lindsey Van in 2004 that Deedee learned of the sport’s omission. “I was incredulous,” she recalls.

Several weeks later, Deedee attended an event held by Women’s Ski Jumping USA (WSJ-USA), a parents’ group that had been recently formed to raise money for the young ski jumpers to compete around the world. “I met athletes, heard stories, and got madder and madder over the fact that they were struggling,” says Deborah. “The next thing I knew, I was President of the board.” The group’s initial goal? Get the women into the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

Although WSJ-USA had successfully lobbied for a World Championship from the International Ski Federation, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) declined the push for inclusion in 2010. “We didn’t have enough women. The sport wasn’t developed enough. We had to work harder,” Deedee explains. So they did. WSJ-USA sued the Vancouver Organizing Committee on the basis of gender discrimination. While the judge was sympathetic to their cause, a lack of jurisdiction over the IOC made it impossible to enforce a ruling. “We were devastated,” Deborah remembers. “Our next shot was 2014.”

Years passed before change again seemed plausible. Finally, after the 2011 World Championship, the IOC agreed to include women’s ski jumping into the 2014 Olympics—but only for one event. “Our job isn’t done yet,” Deedee insists. “All the IOC approved for us was the Normal Hill. The men have three events.” The movement for full equality remains a priority for Deedee and WSJ-USA. “We’re already working ahead, trying to figure out how to get the other two events into 2016,” she affirms.

When Deedee isn’t working tirelessly for WSJ-USA, she serves as the Senior Vice President of Prudential Utah Real Estate, as well as the President of the International Women’s Forum. She also sits on the board of a school in Lebanon (she spent her childhood abroad) and enjoys spending time with her two children and four grandchildren. Despite substantial leadership and family responsibilities, Deedee still finds time to hit the slopes herself—but you won’t find her on the jumps she spends her days defending. “The athletes have been trying to get me to try the baby jump for three years,” she maintains. “I don’t like to be up in the air. I like my feet on the ground.”