Women in Sport Archives

Sported and Women in Sport have come together to launch a new Sport for Change programme to help girls in the most deprived areas of the UK to fulfil their potential by opening up access to sport.

The programme is funded by Comic Relief as part of its ‘Levelling the Field’ initiative.

Research[1] shows that living in a deprived community can have a negative impact on girls’ aspirations – including their educational choices, career pathways and participation in sport or physical activity. Gender stereotypes are particularly entrenched when it comes to sport. Only 43% of girls say they have the same choice as boys at school in sport and exercise; and amongst secondary school-age children, being ‘sporty’ is still widely seen as a masculine trait[2].

The joint programme seeks to address this problem by helping community sport groups in deprived areas of Scotland, South West England and the West Midlands to tackle gender stereotypes by improving the sport offering for girls and women and better meeting their needs.

The community groups will benefit from expert workshops, gaining insights from Women in Sport’s research into the values and motivations that guide girls’ decision making, and how to apply these to the design, delivery and marketing of tailored sports activities. Each group will be supported by Sported volunteer mentors and regional managers for six months to embed the insights from the training and develop a business plan with a focus on girls’ engagement and inclusion.

Additionally, nine girls from across the project will be identified as peer influencers. The girls will be coached and supported by Women in Sport to encourage their female peers to participate in sport and expand their aspirations.

Chris Grant, Chief Executive at Sported, said: “Sport and activity could play a far greater role in helping girls from deprived communities overcome the barriers they face. With Comic Relief’s funding and Women in Sport’s knowhow, we will help our members create new opportunities for girls to reap the benefits of tailored sporting activities that are uniquely engaging, appealing and accessible.”

Ruth Holdaway, Chief Executive at Women in Sport, said: “Our research tells us that playing sport has wide ranging benefits from building confidence to enhancing career prospects and improving health and wellbeing. Women in Sport campaigns for gender equality in every aspect of sport; from the field of play to the board room. We’re excited about the potential of this programme to transform the lives of vulnerable girls and young women across the UK and to open up sport to a group who are currently hugely under-represented. We are very grateful to Comic Relief for the opportunity this grant gives us to deepen and broaden our work with Sported. By combining forces, together we will harness the power of sport to build a fairer society.”

[1] The State of Girls’ Rights in the UK (2016). Plan International UK

[2] Changing the Game for Girls (2012). Women in Sport

An innovative new pilot project that aims to encourage greater participation and increase opportunities for women and girls to get involved in grassroots sport is being rolled out across Northern Ireland thanks to funding from the Department for Communities.

As part of the Department’s continuing investment in women’s sport, Sport NI has partnered with leading Sport for Social Change charity Sported and Women in Sport to launch a new joint pilot programme called ‘Engage-HER’.

Engage-HER will initially see six community sport organisations in Northern Ireland benefit from the combined expertise of Sported and Women in Sport; receiving tailored training and operational support to grow women and girls’ involvement in sport and physical activity.

The programme draws upon Sported’s experience of supporting grassroots groups using sport for social change and Women in Sport’s 30 years of insight-led expertise helping groups remove barriers to participation and improve their understanding of what women and girls want.

The package of benefits will also see each group receive one-to-one mentoring support from Sported to develop a ‘Women and Girls Engagement Plan’. This will help groups put the training and insight from Engage-HER into practice, and foster the development of exciting new sporting opportunities for women and girls across Northern Ireland.

John News, Acting Director of Participation at Sport NI, said: “Sport Northern Ireland is delighted to be working with Sported, Women in Sport, the Department for Communities and our other partners on the Engage-HER pilot programme. Sport NI is committed to encouraging more women and girls to enjoy, engage and excel in sport, and Engage-HER is about developing a more informed and responsive approach to delivering quality sporting experiences for females. We look forward to the roll-out of the pilot programme and wish the six participating organisations well in their work to help women and girls get active, fit and sporty.”

Brenda Kelly, Northern Ireland Manager at Sported, said: “Sport has an important role to play in developing the health and life-skills of young people and bringing communities together. However, across Northern Ireland far fewer girls benefit from sport than their male counterparts. Thanks to funding from the Department for Communities, and together with Sport NI and Women in Sport, we hope to support groups to break down this gender gap.”

Jennie Rivett, Senior Sport Partnerships Manager at Women in Sport, said: “This project funded by the Department for Communities has allowed us to bring our learnings to Northern Ireland for the first time, providing an opportunity to share research and explore how our insights can be applied at a local level. The programme is a really positive step forward and encourages clubs and community groups to think differently about how they engage women and girls.”