Engaging women and girls

Inspiring children to get involved in sport and physical activity can create healthy habits that last a lifetime. However, girls aren’t always encouraged, as much as boys. 

As a starting point, check out Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign. This aims to break down the barriers that prevent women and girls from participating in sport and physical activity.

The campaign addresses common barriers by highlighting and championing women’s involvement with sport and physical activity.

Research by Women in Sport shows that gender stereotypes are being perpetuated by the age of seven. From then on, girls’ participation in sport starts to decline at a much faster rate than boys.

Sport England’s Active Lives data shows that 43.7% of girls in Years 1-6 at school are active. This compares to 51.9% of boys (December 2019).  ('Active' is defined as doing at least one hour of exercise every day).

Barriers

Possible barriers include:

• Gender stereotypes.
• A lack of female role models.
• Family members being discouraging. 

Motivations

Women in Sport's research shows that family has an important role in young girls’ lives. Encouraging parents to get involved could support girls who don't feel very confident.

Solutions

Clubs and organisations should be inclusive, welcoming and committed to tackling these barriers through involving other family members.

This could be done through:

• Adding five minutes of ‘family time’ before or after sessions, where family members are welcome to join in.
• Inviting siblings to take part.
• Organising regular showcases for girls so they can demonstrate what they’ve learned. 

Sport England's data shows that less than half of girls at high school are physically activity for an average of 60 minutes every day.

Barriers 

Friendships and peer acceptance is very important to teenage girls. Being ‘too sporty’ or ‘not sporty enough’ can both have social consequences, meaning that teenage girls can feel self-conscious about their abilities and whether they fit in.

Key barriers also include: 

• Poor self-esteem and body image. 
• Feeling judged. 
• Competition between peers. 
• The effects of puberty, including periods. 
• Feeling uncomfortable about their body. 

Motivations 

Every girl is different, however Women in Sport has identified five ‘anchors' of a teenage girl’s life. These are the values most commonly cited as being important for this group.

They are: 

• Having a support network. 
• Being socially connected. 
• Being independent and having new experiences. 
• Experiencing moments of pride. 
• Being able to ‘keep on top of it all’, balancing their wants and needs in day to day life. 

Taking part in sport and physical activity can reinforce each of these anchors.

Solutions

Try using the anchors as the foundation of your offer for teenage girls. This will help you to keep existing participants motivated and potentially attract more teenage girls. Focus on the potential benefits of getting fit – such as the opportunities for socialising.

These anchors should be clear in your marketing and communications, considered in the delivery of your training sessions and inform other activities like social events.

Providing welcoming environments where members feel safe to explore and develop their skills is really important. Women in Sport’s research into Reframing Sport for Teenage Girls explores this in more detail. 

Teenage girls have hectic lives, so make sure you recognise that there are competing demands on their time. Find out what times work best for them, and be accommodating. 

Promote volunteering

Girls are more likely to volunteer than boys. You could also encourage more teenage girls to become volunteers, to gain new experiences and create moments of pride.

40.4% of girls in Years 5-11 at school have volunteered to support a sport and physical activity, at least twice in the previous year. 

This compares to 36.8% of boys (Sport England Active Lives data, December 2019). 

Barriers 

Barriers usually fit into one of two categories – practical or personal. 

Practical barriers include: 

• Timing or frequency of sessions. 
• Logistics such as location, transport, childcare options. 
• Lack of information about the club/organisation or training/session times. 

Personal barriers include: 

• Lack of confidence in their ability. 
• Worries about their appearance when participating. 
• Social confidence and worrying about joining a new group and not fitting in. 
• Fear of being judged. 
• Cultural or religious barriers. 

Motivations 

Women in Sport’s Understanding Women's Lives report identifies six core values which influence how women want to spend their time and energy.

The values are:

• Looking good.
• Feeling good.
• Achieving goals.
• Developing skills.
• Nurturing friends and family.
• Having fun.

Solutions

Organisations that incorporate these values are more likely to encourage women to join and stay. These values need to be factored into recruitment efforts, activities, training sessions, social events and volunteering opportunities. 

Try to make women focal points in your marketing strategy when promoting your activities you offer.

Promote volunteering

Women are less likely to volunteer than men. Sport England Active Lives data shows that only 11.1% of women over the age of 16 had volunteered at least twice in the previous year compared to 16.8% of men (November 2018).