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On the day of gold medal game of the Vancouver Olympics women's hockey tournament Jacques Rogge distracted media and fans from the game by announcing, prior to the match, that the IOC would consider dropping women's hockey if the parity did not improve.
Rogge stated that "Everyone agrees [that there is not parity]. This may be the investment period for women's ice hockey. I would personally give them more time to grow but there must be a period of improvement. We cannot continue without improvement."
In the Olympic Games, every single championship game has featured Canada playing the United States. Women's Hockey was first introduced as an Olympic Sport in 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Canada won the most recent Olympic tournament in Vancouver (and further upset the IOC during their spirited and truly Canadian victory celebration, complete with beer and cigars).

The IIHF responded by hiring Tanya Foley, a Canadian from Edmonton, as the first ever manager of women's ice hockey. Her job? No small task. She is in charge of making the women's international game more competitive by helping struggling nations.
Her work has not been easy.
According to the Globe and Mail:

"She hears about federations who give most of their funding to the men and teams that can’t afford to travel. They tell her how low enrolment by girls hurts the growth of national teams, and about the all-too-common stereotype that women can’t be high-performance athletes, especially if they want to have a family."

With so much work to be done to improve women's hockey outside of North America it would be easy to just give up and say it cannot be done. Foley, herself, admits that she gets asked all the time "Is it even possible to make women's hockey viable on the world scene?"
Her approach thus far can be described as taking baby steps in the right direction. At the women's world hockey championships in Zurich, Foley assisted in organizing the IIHF's first ever women's coaching symposium. Participants in the symposium came from 26 nations. Canadian and U.S. coaches shared advice on various topics, including the differences between coaching men and women. Coaches from France, Sweden and the Czech Republic also addressed those in attendance, and focused on the cultural problems that they face.
Tanya Foley certainly has a tough job a head of her. But, fortunately for her and for all female hockey players, she has some big weapons in her corner. Her efforts are supported by the the IIHF, along with Canadian and US coaches and players. There has also been recent announcements by the NHL and the Toronto Maple Leafs that they want to do what they can to support women's hockey.
With these big names- and incredible financial resources- women's hockey is being placed in the position, not only to survive the IOC's criticisms, but to become a leading, financially successful international female sport.

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