Barriers To Participation: Gender

Domestic roles Social stereotyping Sport traditionally preserve of males Poor media coverage Less money & power Sexism Inequalities Statistics show that for most sports & physical activity - participation higher amongst men Most popular sports for women - walking, swimming, yoga Very few women take part in competitive sports, e.g. football & golf

Equal opportunities - organisations like NGB’s must create equal opportunity policies due to Sex Discrimination Act 1975 & Women’s Sport & Fitness Foundation raises awareness of equality for women Improve school to club links - there’s huge rate of young women dropping out of sport when leaving school, more than men, leading to bad effect on general health. One of government’s main aims is to improve links between schools & clubs Media coverage - if women’s sport has greater media coverage, it would give women greater chance to see what they could do & give them role models to aspire to be like More facilities for women - facilities should be made accessible to women offering women only sessions where appropriate. Offering these facilities with built in child care facilities so women can combine their domestic role with exercise

Sport viewed as masculine rather than feminine Women with muscles = unattractive in appearance & attitude Sleek & fit beyond reach of normal women Women’s priorities are at home Physically inferior & not suited to high level competition Lower level of performance Media fuels myths & stereotypes European tours in golf prize money for women = £10m men = £82m In national/international Olympic Committees, only 14% are women

Successful elite women had sexuality questioned by media Women’s elite sport less status than male sport Women battled to participate: 1973 1st female competitors in marathon, 1984 1st women’s marathon in Olympics Media focuses more on human interest issues in female sport, rather than performance

Required sample of cells scraped from inside women’s cheek to determine amount of Barr Bodies present - count below minimum % disqualified athlete from Olympics. Dropped in 1992

Provides women with equal rights in work place, education, etc. Hasn’t helped sporting progression Competitive sport excluded by section 44 Separate competitions permitted where “physical strength, stamina or physique puts her at disadvantage to average man” Private sports clubs can legally operate discriminatory policies under section 29 & 34

National newspapers - less than 6% of total sports space to women’s’ sport 90% male bias in sports photographs & articles in newspapers, found over 4 week period in 1991 by WSF Female sport successful at national & international levels but TV rarely covers games until recently Contribute to & fuel stereotypes

Have more leisure time Greater disposable income Promoted by media as fashionable Improvement in levels of provision for some activities Encouraged to participate for weight loss/fitness Positive discriminate by local leisure centres to encourage women’s participation Sport England/WSF have policies promoting sport for under represented groups

Lack of equal opportunities Sexual harassment/verbal agreement Limited membership rights of clubs, e.g. men only section Overlooked for top sport jobs