This Girl Can helping break down barriers for Birmingham women in sport
Their new research has found an "exercise enjoyment gap"
This Girl Can is encouraging more women in Birmingham to get involved in sport, as their new research highlights an "exercise enjoyment gap."
2.4 million fewer women than men enjoy sport and physical activity, with barriers for women in sport being a main factor of this.
Key barriers for women enjoying exercise include fear of judgement, safety concerns and the cost of living.
This Girl Can, Sport England’s award-winning campaign to help women get active, has turned its attention to tackling the barriers with a launch event in Birmingham, developed in partnership with The Active Wellbeing Society, kick-starting efforts to get more women in the city and wider area exercising regularly and enjoying sport.
The campaign’s research found one in three (33%) women say they feel too tired or don’t have enough energy to be physically active; 29% don’t feel motivated enough, and 31% say they don’t have enough time.
Fear of judgement prevails, with key concerns for women including worries about not being fit enough (41%), what other people think of them (32%), showing their body (31%), being on their period (24%) and wearing tight clothing (20%). Over a third (38%) of women say they have felt judged when exercising.
Safety fears are another significant barrier to women enjoying exercise. More than one in five (22%) say they’re concerned about sexual harassment when doing sport and physical activity, a statistic that almost doubles (41%) when outdoors in the dark. Three in 10 have experienced harassment first-hand while exercising, mostly on streets and in parks. Two-thirds (66%) worry about other personal safety.
The findings have led to This Girl Can moving into a new phase of its campaign, ‘This Girl Can With You’, which got underway in Birmingham this week with a panel discussion and networking event in Aston Park, bringing together key local decision makers and sporting organisations.
This Girl Can has identified four action areas with the power to close the Enjoyment Gap. Activities for women must be Social (help women feel part of a community), Suitable (meet women’s needs), Self-Affirming (help women feel confident) and Safe (women must feel physically and emotionally safe when taking part).
The plan locally is to harness the determination and best practice on show at the launch and build momentum across the city to ensure women throughout Birmingham have the opportunity to enjoy getting active.
Kate Dale, Director of Marketing at Sport England, commented: “Women deserve to get active as much as men; we want all women to benefit from the physical, mental and social rewards of an active life.
“The barriers faced by women and girls in 2023 loom large and are deeply embedded in our society. So we are rallying the sport and activity industry to join us to close the Enjoyment Gap by making sure activities for women are social, suitable, self-affirming and safe.”