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As football clubs across the UK get ready for a surge in demand for girls football on the eve of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Play Their Way campaign is calling on coaches to put child-first coaching at the heart of their approach to tackle the sporting ‘enjoyment gap’ between girls and boys and make sure girls have positive first experiences of sport that make them more likely to stay active later in life. Child-first coaching, where coaches focus on championing every child’s voice, choice and journey in sport and physical activity, aims to address this enjoyment gap and ensure positive ex ..read more

Karen Carney’s landmark review of women’s football in England has set out the ongoing gender disparities in football and we applaud the work of Karen and her team for fearlessly shedding light on these inequalities. The report’s aim was to raise minimum standards across the entire game as for too long women and girls have been relegated to the sidelines and treated as second-class citizens in their own footballing world. They’ve been conditioned to accept, and be grateful for, the meagre crumbs from a table that should rightfully be theirs. It’s time that changed. Football, our national sport ..read more

“Whilst there has been commendable and significant progress in the women’s game, women continue to be treated as second-class citizens with unequal access, pay and treatment. The England Women’s team are yet to play a Test Match at Lord’s, the home of cricket!”  Cindy Butts, chair of the Independent Commission of Equality in Cricket  We welcome the publication of the Independent Commission of Equality in Cricket report which we believe should be read by all those involved in the game of cricket.  We submitted evidence to the inquiry as an organisation and commend all those who g ..read more

Rosie Stancer, 63, is a polar athlete and explorer. Through her expeditions she’s pushed the limits of endurance under extreme conditions and is continuing to do so. She may not be built in the image of Scott, Shackleton and Amundsen, yet Rosie has not let limiting gender stereotypes stop her. In fact, she views her femininity as her greatest asset. One journalist memorably described her as a cross between “Tinkerbell and the Terminator”.   Born into a life of privilege, she is a cousin of Her late Majesty the Queen, she explains how she broke free of societal expectation and describ ..read more

Women in Sport has appointed Julia Newton as its new Chair of its Board of Trustees. A highly experienced executive and non-executive leader, Julia is currently chair of GB Taekwondo, where she has been a champion of female athletes and she will continue her role there alongside her position at Women in Sport until the end of her term. The appointment comes at a pivotal time for Women in Sport as it prepares to mark its 40th birthday in 2024. With a proud history of securing change for women and girls, Women in Sport is the most long-standing charity in its field. It recognises that gender st ..read more

In October 2022, Petra Nerys Morgan died unexpectedly and suddenly at the age of 53. A ‘force of nature’ Petra was chief executive of the Street Lane GP Practice in Leeds and a passionate sportswoman. It was through sport that Rebecca Noble first met Petra after joining a tennis club following her move to Leeds around 15 years ago. They quickly became friends, often playing tennis and travelling together. Speaking of Petra, Rebecca said: “She loved sport as a way to bring people together, to build friendships and a sense of community. She was either playing sport, or in the gym or watching sp ..read more

Sport England published its latest Active Lives Adult survey report last week, which showed that overall, the number of people playing sport and being active has recovered, after participation fell due to Covid-19 restrictions. However, the data also shows that existing inequalities are widening. The 5% activity gender gap is now the biggest it’s been since reporting began, with 66% of men achieving the recommended 150+ minutes of activity per week, compared to 61% of women.  When we break activity levels for women by ethnicity the picture is stark. Just 51% of Black women are ‘active’ c ..read more

Inspired to take action following the launch of Women in Sport’s report into primary aged girls Sport, stereotypes and stolen dreams: Why girls still feel they don’t belong in sport, The Rugby Football League has launched a new project to break down gender stereotypes and encourage more young girls to take up the sport. RugBees is open to girls aged 7-11 and will be delivered on a weekly basis by club foundations to help them develop their confidence in areas such as catching, passing and kicking – whilst having plenty of fun too. It’s the first Rugby League programme to be developed specifica ..read more

The news of an extra £63million funding for community leisure centres with pools in yesterday’s Budget is welcome. Although it is not a complete solution to the challenges facing the leisure sector, it will provide the facilities most at risk of closure and cuts with the urgent funding they need this year. We know that women and girls are disproportionately dependent on pools and leisure facilities to be active. The statistics are stark: Sport England data shows that in 2020-21 over 4million women took an exercise class compared to less than 1.5million men, whilst 1.1million women went swimmin ..read more