Spotlight on: Female Participation
Introduction
This Spotlight On: Female Participation showcases the support available to help more women to become more active and encourage more women to consider coaching too. We hope you find the following resources and articles of interest.
Reducing the enjoyment gap
This Girl Can with You
This Girl Can, Sport England’s flagship campaign to help women get active, is turning its attention to tackling the exercise ‘Enjoyment Gap’ – as it reveals 2.4 million fewer women than men enjoy sport and physical activity. As part of a new campaign phase, ‘This Girl Can With You’, highlights the barriers faced by women when getting active, with key concerns including safety, fear of judgement and the cost of living.
To support the campaign and to get people talking about the Enjoyment Gap and what they can do to close it, sport and activity providers across Kent & Medway are invited to access a host of free resources, practical advice and latest insight via the link below. Help make sports and activity feel more enjoyable for women.
This Girl Can With You – Free Campaign Resources & Toolkit
Tackling Inactivity
Along with Sport England, Active Kent & Medway is committed to reducing the negative impact of COVID-19 and the widening gap of inequalities in sport and physical activity in under-represented groups. Many of the organisations we’ve been working with over the last few years have focused on increasing female participation in their local communities, to help tackle the inequalities gap in sport and activity.
One fine example of this is Age UK Faversham and Sittingbourne’s Walking Netball project. Here’s a short film about their story:
Supporting Women in Coaching
Women Who Coach: Toolkit
UK Coaching want to encourage and inspire more women to get into coaching and improve career development opportunities for female coaches. Their digital guide and toolkit will grow your confidence and your skill set to enable you to turn obstacles into opportunities.
From powerful personal stories, to tips on career progression, to health and lifestyle advice, to strategies for conquering gender stereotypes in sport and in coaching, this Toolkit demonstrates UK Coaching’s commitment to creating a more diverse and inclusive coaching workforce and sporting landscape.
Moving through the Life Stages
Call it what it is, period
In October 2022 the Well HQ launched their Call it What it is campaign, a plea to standardise the language of the female body, starting with period. On first glance it might seem innocuous, what’s wrong with shark week or time of the month. Is it really that big a deal?
Yes. Humans have used coded language and euphemisms around the female body for centuries. It’s a deep-set habit (which exists for a reason) yet its drawbacks play out in doctor surgeries, sports changing rooms, classrooms and gyms to this day.
Research in 2016 found that, worldwide, there are some 5,000 different euphemisms for periods. It’s clear no-one anywhere really wants to talk about this stuff. And that’s a problem.
Visit the Well HQ to find out more
This Mum Moves
Delivered in partnership by The Active Pregnancy Foundation and Institute of Health Visiting (iHV), This Mum Moves is an educational programme which aims to empower women to make informed physical activity choices throughout pregnancy and beyond by providing professionals with the tools to discuss physical activity during the childbearing years.
Together they want to improve the physical and mental wellbeing of pregnant women and new mums by reducing the decline in physical activity levels during and after pregnancy.
Visit This Mum Moves to find out more
Active through the Menopause
Menopause is a complex stage of life, and sustaining fitness and activity at this point is life changing when it comes to dealing with menopausal symptoms and overall wellbeing.
Women in Sport Report: ‘Supporting Women to get active during Menopause’ summarises their recommendations for the health, sport and exercise sectors to support women to develop physical activity habits during menopause. They found that:
- 82% of women experienced menopausal symptoms and 70% said their symptoms had a moderate to severe impact on their quality of life
- Active women felt empowered to take control of their life during menopause. Physical activity gave them much needed me-time; it helped them to de-stress and cope better with menopause and life.
Visit Women In Sport to view report
Moving Medicine is a comprehensive resource designed to help healthcare professionals and anyone working within community settings to integrate physical activity conversations into routine care.
Access their resources to help you have good quality conversations about physical activity and the menopause.
Move Your Way with Everyday Active
Every woman should have the opportunity to get active. We know that being active is good for our physical, mental and social health. With Everyday Active you can explore activities, uncover personal stories, discover hints and tips, and view local community pages listing a wide range of activities and opportunities to help you move your way and become more active.
For those of you looking to engage more women within your local community to become more active, the Everyday Active partner hub has been created specifically for health professionals and activity providers to access posters, flyers and other useful resources.
Contact Us
If you’d like to discuss any of the above articles or would like any more information, please get in touch by emailing activekent@kent.gov.uk and one of the team will get back to you as soon as possible.