Miss Universe makes 'inclusive' change to allow more women to compete

Miss Universe has made a change that's been long overdue.

The international pageant has strict rules on who can and can't compete, and now, for the first time, they're opening up who can join.

Sources close to the organisation told Insider that the much-needed change will come into effect for the 72nd Miss Universe in 2023.

Married women and mothers will soon be allowed to compete for the first time ever.

Yep, seriously. We weren't aware that they couldn't, but turns out that the pageant actually had a rule saying that only single women with no kids could apply.

We're not sure how being a mother or married impacts your ability to wear the crown but, hey, better late than never.

A memo about the change went out to directors on Friday 5 August, according to Insider.

The memo read: "We all believe that women should have agency over their lives and that a human's personal decisions should not be a barrier to their success."

The pageant will still keep its strict age guidelines for contestants to be between 18 and 28.

Still, it was a much welcome change for a lot of hopefuls and former winners, with Andrea Meza, Miss Universe 2020, telling Insider: "I honestly love that this is happening."

Users on Twitter also joined in on the celebration, with one writing: "YES! It’s high time we celebrate all women! MUO keeps proving to us why they are the most coveted!"

A second was thrilled with the news, saying: "INCLUSIVITY TO THE NEXT LEVEL!!!"

Not everyone was thrilled, though, with another user, who clearly hadn't heard of the idea of a working mother or wife, saying: "#Inclusivity but think about the arrangements if a mother or someone married wins. A year away from her family?"

While some were bashing the decision, another former winner, Mary Jean Lastimosa, Miss Universe 2014, pointed out: "You still have to win in your country that might apply diff rules but still."

And that's a good point, to qualify for Miss Universe internationally, you have to first win the competition in your home country - where there could still be rules against married women and mothers competing.

So, how inclusive the change will actually be remains to be seen.

UNILAD has reached out to the Miss Universe team for comment.

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Topics: News, World News, Twitter

Shola Lee

Shola Lee began her journalism career while studying for her undergraduate degree at Queen Mary, University of London and Columbia University in New York. She has written for the Columbia Spectator, QM Global Bloggers, CUB Magazine, UniDays, and Warner Brothers' Wizarding World Digital. Recently, Shola took part in the 2021 BAFTA Crew and BBC New Creatives programme before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news, trending stories, and features.