Scottish Women and Girls in Sport Week is an annual awareness campaign led by Active Scotland and the Scottish Government to increase the visibility, participation, and leadership of women and girls in physical activity and sport.
Research consistently shows that women participate in sport and physical activity at lower rates than men and face specific barriers to participation, including:
- Lack of confidence
- Fear of judgement
- Body image concerns
- Intimidation within gym environments
- Male-dominated fitness spaces
- Caring responsibilities and lack of time
Research from sportscotland highlights that women participate in sport and physical activity at lower levels than men and identifies confidence, body image and male-dominated environments as key barriers.
Why does Scottish Women and Girls in Sport Week matter?
From as young as five, girls can feel excluded from sport due to being exposed to stereotypes suggesting they are less sporty, less competitive, and less capable than boys.
Despite good progress being made over the last number of years to reduce the participation gap in sport and physical activity, there remains a significant difference between the number of boys and men taking part in sport when compared to girls and women.
Key stats
- In Scotland, 76% of boys and 73% of men meet the recommended physical activity levels, compared to just 67% of girls and 65% of women.
- More than a third (35%) of girls believe they are not expected to be good at sport, compared with just 4% of boys. Women have also reported fears around judgement, appearance and feeling out of place in fitness environments.
- More than 4 in 5 girls (82%) believe women’s sport isn’t taken as seriously as men’s.
- Almost half as many girls (29%) dream of reaching the top level of sport when compared with boys (52%)
- Just over a quarter (26%) of sports club members in Scotland are female.
How can I get involved?
While the week is focussed on increasing the visibility, participation and leadership of women and girls in physical activity and sport, it is incumbent on us all to create safe and welcoming spaces for everyone to feel comfortable.
We will be running a women and girls-only night in RGU Sport, Her Night, to help more people feel welcome, confident and supported to be active.
We also encourage students, staff, alumni, and community members to share our posts on social media, using #SheCanSheWill to grow awareness of the campaign.
Why focus on women when men also experience confidence and body image issues?
We fully recognise that confidence, wellbeing and body image concerns can affect people of all genders.
However, national research identifies that women experience some specific and disproportionate barriers to participating in physical activity and accessing fitness environments. This is why many gyms, leisure centres and sports organisations offer targeted women-focused initiatives.