Gender gap remains ‘significant’ in team sports due to too many barriers

Women and girls still face too many barriers to participating in sport, resulting in a persistent gender gap in participation. The Health Barriers to Girls and Women in Sport report, published by the Women and Equalities Select Committee, highlights gender stereotyping and female physiology on young girls among the issues impacting female participation. “The particular challenges faced by girls to sports participation arise from a combination of gender stereotypes that promote the very outdated notion that sport is a predominately male sphere,” the report reads. “In addition, there are health and wellbeing issues experienced only, or predominately, by girls.

Research has consistently shown gender disparities in participation in, and enjoyment of, physical activity and physical education (PE) at school. Youth Sports Trust’s (YST) series, Girls Active, has surveyed levels of physical activity among boys and girls since 2016. The most recent data show that girls are on average physically active for 60 minutes or more on fewer days per week than boys (3.3 days for girls, compared to 3.9 days for boys in 2022–23).

When it comes to enjoyment of school PE (rather than merely taking part) the gender gap is even more pronounced – and has widened since 2016. The proportion of girls saying they enjoy PE has fallen (from 74% in 2016 to 63% in 2023), while boys’ enjoyment has remained stable at 86%. The “enjoyment gap” is most stark at Key Stage 4 (KS4), encompassing Years 10 and 11 of secondary school, when children are aged 14 to 16 years.

Part of the reason for the pronounced enjoyment gap at KS4 lies in the very different ways in which boys and girls experience puberty, creating distinct barriers for girls. While pubescent hormonal changes associated with boys typically make them “faster, fitter, more aggressive and well suited to playing sport”, girls’ enthusiasm for sport, and their athletic confidence, can be negatively affected in several interconnected ways.

Team trouble

The latest Sport England Active Lives Children and Young People survey also revealed persistent gender gaps in team sport and activity levels. With 69% of boys aged 5-16 engaging in team sport, compared to only 47% of girls in the same age group, the overall 22% gender gap in participation has remained stable since last year.

There is, however, one sport in which female participation has increased substantially. The success of the Lionesses has gone some way to inspiring girls to play football, with a 1.5% rise in participation levels.

The recent figures from Sport England also reveal that girls’ overall activity levels are consistently lower than boys among those aged 13-16, with less than half (44%) classified as physically active, compared to 51% of boys. According to Women in Sport, the persistent 7% gender gap between teenage girls and boys results from the cumulative impact of “early years stereotyping, hitting new challenges of female puberty and the gaze of social media”.

“Despite positive trends in overall activity levels among older teens, attitudes towards sport and exercise remain stagnant and girls are far less likely than boys to enjoy sport, highlighting the urgent need for change,” Women in Sport says.

The organisation also highlights how black British children have the most positive attitudes towards sports and exercise – yet black British girls are substantially less active than black British boys, making it the ethnicity with the largest gender gap. Black British girls are also 11% less active than white British girls. According to Women in Sport CEO, Stephanie Hilborne, it is vital that this ethnicity gap is further understood.

“Sport is not only vital for physical and mental wellbeing but is joyful and rewarding, building resilience and skills in leadership and teamwork,” Hilborne says. “It is fantastic that more girls are playing football, thanks to the extraordinary efforts of the fabulous Lionesses, but the gender gap in team sport as a whole has not shifted and remains deeply entrenched.

“Mental health services are at breaking point, yet sport could be a powerful preventative measure against anxiety-related illnesses like self-harm which are blighting girls’ lives. It is not inevitable that girls drop out of sport. Rather, society makes it impossible for the majority of girls to feel free and fulfilled through sport.

“We need to crush early years stereotyping and deliver sport within school and community settings that recognises the impact that stereotyping has, and the need to build skills and a sense of freedom amongst girls. If we fail to take drastic action, we are condemning another generation of girls to a lifetime of poorer health devoid of the joy, sense of belonging and community that can be built through sport, a privilege granted to far more men than women.”