The English Football Association, Team GB and England Netball are among major organisations to back the Equal Sport Project – a new initiative aimed at improving equality and making the UK world leaders for women and girls’ sport.
Recent research by Sporting Insights found that fewer than 1% of women working in sport believe gender equality has been achieved across the industry, while more than half believe they are paid less than men for carrying out the same role.
Consequently, the Equal Sport Project has identified five areas where improved leadership, investment and action will have the greatest impact in bringing equality for women and men across sport. These are:
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Equal access to sport for girls in school
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Equal relevance, reach and revenue for women’s sport
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An equal workforce across sport
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Governance structures redesigned for equality
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Equal access to sports facilities
Several organisations have already made pledges based on the above, including Aquatics GB and the FA prioritising female leadership programmes, while Sport England and UK Sport have committed to working with their funding partners to ensure their governance is designed by men and women, for men and women.
The Youth Sport Trust, meanwhile, has committed to support schools in recognising and challenging stereotypes as well as develop male allies to champion gender equality in PE, school sport and physical activity.
The project is also backed by the UK government, with sports minister Stephanie Peacock saying: “We have seen progress in women and girls’ sport, but there is still a long way to go.
“Like the Equal Sport Project, this government is backing women’s sport at every level, from hosting the 2027 Tour de France Femmes Grand Depart and bidding to host the 2035 Fifa Women’s World Cup, to investing £400m in grassroots sport facilities, doubling priority access to football pitches for women and girls and chairing the Women’s Sport Taskforce.
“We will work closely with the Equal Sport Project and encourage all organisations to get involved. Together we can make the UK a world leader in women and girls’ sport.”