Gender

At a glance

Fear of judgement, lacking confidence, not having enough time – our research shows there are a mix of practical and emotional pressures that stop many women from being as active as they would like.

In fact, 39% of women aged 16 and over are not active enough to get the full health benefits of sport and physical activity, compared to 35% of men.

Closing the gap

We’re looking to close the gender gap and persuade more women to get active. Because not only does regular activity improve women's own physical and mental health; women have a strong influencing role within their own families.

That’s why in 2015 we launched our groundbreaking This Girl Can campaign.

This Girl Can challenges the conventional idea of what exercise looks like, and aims to inspire more women and girls to wiggle, jiggle, move and prove that judgement, time, money and energy are barriers that can be overcome.

Our strategy – Uniting the Movement

Getting women and girls more involved in sport and activity through campaigns like This Girl Can was a crucial part of our Towards an Active Nation strategy.

Our new 10-year strategy launched in 2021, Uniting the Movement, is our plan to make being physically active a normal part of life for everyone in England – to make it easier for all of us as we go about our everyday lives.

Because currently, it’s not always a level playing field.

We know that women are less active than men, and this gender gap starts with girls being less active from a very young age.

This inequality, as well as others, is at the very core of Uniting the Movement and we have a laser focus on tackling them in all that we do, because providing opportunities to people and communities that have traditionally been left behind, and helping to remove the barriers to activity, has never been more important.

Learn more about our Uniting the Movement strategy

Research

What we know

There are 313,600 fewer women than men who are regularly active
More men do sport and physical activity than women at almost every age group
When asked, 13 million women said they'd like to do more sport and physical activity
4 in 10 women are not active enough to ensure they get the full health benefits.

A group of women celebrating and high-fiving on a playing field

Active Lives Adult Survey

Published twice a year, Our Active Lives Adult Survey measures the activity levels of people across England.

The results from our latest survey, based on data between gathered from May 2018-May 2019, shows a year-on-year increase in the number of active women of 254,200. In addition, there’s been a decrease of 142,100 women who are inactive.

This means the gender gap between numbers of men and women who are physically active is continuing to narrow, thanks in part to efforts across the sport and physical activity sector to appeal more to women.

But despite these positive results, stubborn inequalities still remain, such as women from lower socio-economic groups and Black and South Asian communities being less likely to be active.

Find out more about the Active Lives surveys

instructor teaching stretches in an exercise class for women

Go Where Women Are

The Go Where Women Are insight pack is an in-depth look at engaging women and girls in sport and exercise.

It does so by exploring our current understanding of women, their relevant motivations, barriers and triggers to getting more active, and what this means for sports and exercise activities and initiatives.

The pack pulls out seven key learnings that are most important to keep in mind when delivering sport and exercise to women and girls.

It also draws on a rich range of data, research and practical projects stretching over many years, including the I Will If You Will pilot in Bury, Bloomingirls festival in Manchester, and Active Women projects.

Insight - Go Where Women Are

Download the file - 1.55 MB

Getting women active

This Girl Can

This Girl Can is our nationwide campaign to get women and girls moving, regardless of shape, size and ability.

This Girl Can believes that there’s no right way to get active – if it gets your heart rate up it counts. And we want more women to find what’s right for them.

The campaign celebrates active women who are doing their thing no matter how they look, how well they do it or how sweaty they get. In the process, we want to challenge the conventional idea of what exercise looks like and reach out to women of all backgrounds and ethnicities who feel left behind by traditional exercise.

In doing so, we’re aiming to inspire more women and girls to wiggle, jiggle, move and prove that judgement, time, money and energy are barriers that can be overcome.

Click here to learn more about our work on the campaign, or visit the This Girl Can website by clicking on the button below.

This Girl Can

Go Where Women Are

Our Go Where Women Are insight pack takes an in-depth look at engaging women and girls in sport and exercise. It does so by exploring our current understanding of women, their relevant motivations, barriers and triggers to getting more active, and what this means for sports and exercise activities and initiatives.

The pack pulls out seven key learnings that are most important to keep in mind when delivering sport and exercise to women and girls. They are:

Change the offer to suit the women you’re targeting – don’t expect women to change to fit sport and exercise
Don’t just talk about ‘sport’ – for many women, sport has baggage
Differentiate sport and exercise from other interests by promoting (not preaching) the additional benefits – sell what your audience is looking for
Seeing is believing. Making sport the ‘norm’ for women relies on local women of all ages, sizes and faiths not only becoming active, but celebrating it and encouraging others to join in
Use positivity and encouragement to drive action – stimulating action through fear of consequences will have little traction
Make it easy for women to act: right time, right place, right welcome, right company, right gear
People make or break the experience – ensure your audience is appropriately supported along the way.

Insights - Go Where Women Are

Download the file - 1.55 MB

Why is it useful?

The insight pack has been designed to help our partners, and all those involved in the sector who want to engage women, to understand:

The basics of how women are likely to feel and behave when it comes to sport and exercise
What will encourage them to get active and keep it up.

Is it one size fits all?

Of course, one size does not fit all. Women and girls will vary both between themselves – in terms of attitudes and behaviours – and within themselves as they age and pass through different life stages.

Deliverers of sport and exercise should use the insight from this review and tailor if needed with local research to understand the barriers, motivations and triggers of their target audience.

Tools and resources

Helping Women and Girls to Get Active

Helping more people get active means happier, healthier communities. And getting women and girls involved in sport and physical activity is a crucial part of what we do.

That’s why we produced our Helping Women and Girls to Get Active guidance. The downloadable document has advice, suggestions, hints and tips that will make it easier for you to get more women and girls active in your local area.

We recommend viewing either or both the ‘At-a-glance’ and ‘Practical’ guides to get started, before delving into the relevant sections featured below:

We’ve also produced a Word version of the guide, which you may prefer to download, and a host of best practice reference resources that you can access below - including a report and guidance on social media techniques when encouraging participation.