Women in Sport - Overcoming Barriers to Participation Leanne Dingle
• The Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF) is the national governmental organisation solely committed to improving and promoting opportunities for women and girls in sport at every level. • We work through a combination of advocacy, information, education, research and training. • Our vision is of a society which celebrates the diversity of women and girls and enables them to benefit from, excel at and fulfil their potential through the sport of their choice.
Statistics: • Even by the age of 7 many more girls than boys have been put off sport • 40% of girls have dropped out of sports activity by the age of 18 • Almost half of all women in Britain (44%) participate in little or no sport at all • 67% of girls would like to take more exercise than they currently do.
The lifecycle • The lives of women differ depending on income, ethnicity, health, sexuality, motherhood etc • Therefore, women do not all face the same barriers to participation • As a result, sports providers should think about the different motivations of different generations and tailor their services and information accordingly
Exercise • Group 1 - Discuss the practical barriers that may prevent a woman from participating in sport or physical activity • Group 2 - Discuss the personal barriers to participation • Group 3 - Discuss the social and cultural barriers to participation
• Group 1 - Practical barriers
Practical Barriers •
Lack of time and childcare – Almost 3.5 hours of a woman’s day is taken up with domestic work
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Lack of money – sport is seen as a luxury or reward for paid work. Women on average earn £559 less per month than men
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Lack of transport - public transport which is often unreliable, inconvenient and expensive
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Personal safety – many women fear attack or harrassment when out in public alone or with their children
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Funding- women’s sport attracts less funding, sponsorship and prize money than men’s resulting in poorer facilities, equipment and kit
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Access to facilities – sports halls often prioritise male sports and legislation often exists to prevent women’s access to certain facilities.
Recommendations Practical Barriers: •
Assist with child care costs
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Provide childcare or allow women to bring children to the venue
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Provide exercise sessions before work/school or at lunchtime as well as in the evenings
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Arrange toddlers and children’s classes at the same time as adult exercise sessions
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Provide free taster sessions
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Seek external funding to assist in the cost of women’s and girls activities
Recommendations – Practical Barriers: •
Provide information about public transport
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Provide information and resources which enable women and girls to carry out exercises in their own homes
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Promote walking, running and cycling to venues
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Do safety assessment of venue and surrounding areas
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Ask attendees about their concerns about personal safety
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Offer self defence lessons and personal alarms
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Allocate facility and pitch time equally
Recommendations – Practical Barriers: •
Use community centres, schools, village halls etc as well as sports centres
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Make sure external lighting is good
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Arrange activities as early as possible rather than late at night
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Allocate equal funds and prize money to women’s events and activities
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Explore partnerships with transport providers
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Encourage users of your provision to travel together, share transport
• Group 2 – Personal barriers
Personal Barriers •
Body Image – About a third of girls do not like others to see how they look when they participate in sport
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Clothing/Equipment – These are often aimed at men and expensive. Some women are required to dress in a particular way due to their faith
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Lack of self-confidence – Women and girls are on average less confidence about their performance, body image and sporting abilities and are often put off my competition.
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Parental and adult influence – many girls are put off sport as a result of discouraging comments. Women and girls respond well to encouragement and support of their efforts
Recommendations – Personal Barriers: •
Allow women and girls to wear t-shirts over swimming costumes
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Use images of women who are representative of the community
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Provide single sex activities with female staff
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Challenge comments/actions offensive to women and girls
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Encourage staff and coaches to wear casual, baggy clothes
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Ensure that equipment is suitable for women and girls
Recommendations – Personal Barriers: •
Ensure that all women and girls have a chance to take part
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Ensure that women’s sport is not made to look inferior to men’s
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Encourage more women to become coaches and sports leaders
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Establish mentoring systems
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Promote fun, open, non-competitive activities
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Ask participants what kind of music they would prefer to exercise to and use this
Recommendations – Personal Barriers: •
Encourage parents and teachers to be positive role models
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Organise mother and daughter/father and daughter activities
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Ensure there are positive female role models at your club/centre
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Use incentives to encourage performance and attendance
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Offer rewards to teams and individuals that are not just focused on winning. Ie.most improved, best attitude etc
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Ensure that there is privacy in changing rooms and showers and provide adequate mirrors, hair dryers etc
• Group 3 – Social and cultural barriers
Social and Cultural Barriers •
Male dominated culture of sport – sport has traditionally been defined, organised, promoted and constructed as a male activity
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Attitudes and prejudices about sexuality – Women’s sport as well as lesbianism is regarded by some as unfeminine and as a result some people wrongly conclude that all sports women must therefore be lesbians
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Attitudes and prejudices about disability – discriminatory attitudes, lack of awareness and access limitations can prevent disabled women and girls from participating
Social and Cultural Barriers •
Attitudes and prejudices about ethnicity – Assumptions about BME people can limit their opportunities
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Sexual harassment and abuse – women and girls in sport are sometimes victims of abuse by authority figures or get unwanted hassle and attention while participating
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Female invisibility – Media coverage of women’s sport is poor and there are too few women employed in sport at all levels which results in a lack of positive role models.
Recommendations - Social and Cultural Barriers: •
Challenge sexist or homophobic assumptions and behaviours
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Offer equal opportunities to attend courses and events to girls and boys
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Combine physical activity with health promotion and expressive arts as this is appealing to women
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Promote equality and open minded attitudes within the workplace
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Ensure equal number of men and women as coaches, organisers, participants etc.
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Adopt rigorous screening procedures for appointment of all staff
Recommendations –Social and Cultural Barriers: •
Do not use stereotypical images in publicity as users could be disabled, bisexual, lesbian or of various faiths or ethnicities
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Include disabled women in publicity material
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Train all staff in working with people with disabilities
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Promote women and girls with disabilities, varying sexual orientations, and different faiths and religions as role models
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Be aware of cultural and religious festivals such as Eid and Ramadan when arranging events and activities
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Help local women to inspire and motivate other women and girls
Recommendations –Social and Cultural Barriers: •
Ensure that staff are trained in issues relating to ethnicity, diversity and inclusion
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Establish codes of ethics and conduct for all staff
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Ensure all staff working with girls have been CRB checked and trained in child protection
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Ensure that athletes and coaches feel open to discuss any issues surrounding abuse or harassment
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Promote women and girls sport and achievement through the press
Committed to Good Practice • WSF are committed to promoting good practice in sport and physical activity to ensure that more women and girls can benefit from an active life • Women into Coaching - London is just one example of a project that demonstrates how more women and girls can be encouraged into sport
Women into Coaching – London (WiC) AIM: To provide over 75 women across London with the skills and training needed to move into or advance in sports coaching and leadership
• The project will be delivered by the Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF) and is fully funded by the European Union through the European Social Fund (ESF) and Learning and Skills Council (LSC) • The project will target women of all ages, backgrounds, sporting abilities and experience • The project began in January 2005 and will run until December 2006
TARGETS: • 50 women to achieve Level 2 qualifications in Rugby Union, Swimming, Football or Gymnastics • 25 women to achieve Level 1 coaching qualifications in the above sports or in Community Sports Leadership (CSLA) • 40 women to attend a Women Get Set Go course
TARGETS CONT… • 75 women to undertake sportscoachUK courses in Child Protection, Disability Awareness and Equity in your Sports Coaching • Level II women to attend additional sportscoachUK courses of their choice • 325 courses attended over 2 years in total
• Every women who enrols will be assigned a personal mentor who will support them through the programme • There will be no charge to participants and travel and childcare costs will be covered by ESF • However, beneficiaries will need to devote time and effort in order to successfully complete the programme
• Thank you for you time • Any questions • Please visit www.wsf.org.uk for additional information
