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Segments and priority groups

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This section outlines how Sport England's priority groups (women, C2DE social class, black ethnic minorities, those with a limiting disability) are are incorporated within the sporting segments.

Currently Sport England has four priority groups:

• Females
• Lower social classes, classified demographically as NS SEC 5-8
• Disabled people with limiting illness
• Black and ethnic minorities (BME)

The segments do not replace the emphasis on these groups and should be seen as additional tool in the drive to raise participation rather than a replacement to priority groups.

Most of the nineteen segments include a proportion of people from priority groups.

By focusing on the segments which contain higher proportions of priority groups, we will also be raising participation amongst these sectors of society.

Gender and social class (measured as Social and Economic Classification – SEC) were identified as key drivers to sports and active recreation behaviour and attitudes. Consequently there are segments which are characterised by these factors. In total there are nine all female segments and three mixed gender segments and nine segments where the majority of individuals will be NS SEC 5-8 (lower social classes). These are:

Black and Ethnic Minorities
When collating the evidence for the project, it became apparent that ethnic origin alone is not a major factor in whether individuals participate in sport. More important is age, gender and social economic status. Therefore none of the nineteen segments are driven by ethnicity. Information on BME breakdown is available for each of the nineteen segments. The following points outline our reasoning in more detail.

Differences within BME groups
People of the same ethnic origin have different attitudes and are influenced by different things. For example, a young Afro-Caribbean man is more likely to be influenced by music, technology and trendy brands than his mother is. She is more likely to be influenced by community newspapers, daytime TV and the local radio. Ethnicity alone does not drive participation attitudes and it would be misrepresentative to suggest this in the segments. Therefore, when trying to segment large groups of people at a national level grouping them together by age, gender and social economic background is more likely to be helpful when trying to engage them and change their behaviour.

Identifying smaller groups is not possible on a national level
There are certain sections of society which do face particular religious and cultural barriers to participation in sport, such as Muslim women. Sport England remains committed to breaking down these barriers. However at a national level these segments are only a small proportion of the population and are therefore included with other segments. Segmentation is not a replacement for local knowledge of barriers and motivations to sport and active recreation but should be viewed as an additional tool.  

Describing the segments
The nineteen segments names were derived from an analysis of the electoral roll, with the final name chosen from one of the top five names of people classified in that segment.

BME Representation within the segments
The table below show the breakdown of BME participants in each of the nineteen segments. This is based on respondent data available in Active People.  

Disabled people
Like BME, disability alone does not drive sports behaviour and attitudes. Disability is often related to age, with the older segments having a larger proportion of disabled people than the younger segments. Every segment has a proportion of disabled people. The table below outlines the proportion of people within each segment with a limiting illness or disability (please remember that this is self-defining). Sport England remains committed to breaking down the barriers which disabled people face when trying to participate in sport.

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