Participation of women in the Olympics 20% minimum presence of women on their committee. The first Olympic Games to feature female athletes was the 1900 Games in Paris. Hélène de Pourtalès of Switzerland became the first woman to compete at the Olympic Games and became the first female Olympic champion by being a part of the winning team in the first 1 to 2 ton sailing event on May 22, 1900. Briton Charlotte Cooper became the first female individual champion by winning the women's singles tennis competition on July 11, 1900. Tennis and golf were the only sports where women could compete in individual disciplines. 22
Women in government first half of the 20th century. New Zealand was the first country to grant women the right to vote. On the 19th of September in 1893, New Zealand became the first country that allowed women the right to participate in elections. The change in the law was a result of a petition headed by Kate Shepherd on behalf of the Women's Temperance Union. The petition was signed by 32000 women, almost one in four of New Zealand women at the time. In Europe, the last countries to enact it were Switzerland and Liechtenstein. In Switzerland, women gained the right to