Barriers Affecting Women in Sport Today

There are obvious differences between men and women, just as there are differences between some women and other women. Therefore, it would be fair to say that not all sports are for all women. The issue in today's society is that gender stereotypes need to be broken and that girls and women need the freedom to choose and equal opportunities and provisions to not only participate in sport but also to excel. However, social changes have gradually given women more opportunities to control their own lives; this wasn't so in the past. Many sports in the not so distant past were not even open to women. An example of this is the lack of history of women's sport, mainly the history of sport is the history of men's sport.

Since records have been kept about sports participation, the gap has always been large between men's and women's rates. Sports development programmes aimed at changing participation rates take time to achieve their targets, so a five-year or even ten-year strategy might be needed to bring about a cultural change in attitudes, lifestyle, expectations and opportunities. According to the latest population data from Sport England, around 77% of women take part in sport at least once a year. However, only 56% of women take part in sport at least once a month. This means that there are only about 15 million women in England taking part in sport on at least an infrequent basis and 11 million taking part on a more frequent basis. The most popular activity for women is walking with 41% going for a walk or hike of at least 2 miles for pleasure each month. However if you take walking out of the statistics shown above, then only 60% of women take part in sport on an infrequent basis (12 million) and 38% take part on a frequent basis ( 7.5 million). Even men from Black and ethnic minority communities are more likely to take part in sport than women with 63% doing so at least once a month. Men have higher participation rates in all sports except swimming, keep fit/yoga, horse riding, ice skating and netball. Apart from walking, Keep fit/yoga is the most popular sporting activity for women.

Identifying the barriers

There are many barriers in society that are preventing women's participation rates to increase. The main barriers are equity of representation, the media, ageism and a male dominated society. These are explained in more detail later on, but all of these barriers need to be broken in order to increase opportunities for women. Below I have put together a diagram showing the various factors influencing participation and achievement of women and girls in sport.

The media could be argued to be the biggest culprit is the lack of women participating in sport. The amount of media coverage of women's sport is not equal with the level of interest and activity among women. Even when women are shown in the media, they nearly always tend to be portrayed as "eye candy" instead of being shown to be great sportspeople. An example of this is Anna Kornikova, she never won a major tennis tournament, however she is one of the most famous women's tennis players in the World because of her good looks. More defined and muscular women who are in sport are assumed to be homosexual, because they do not fit into the Expectations of what a "lady" should look like.

Also there is a lack of equity of representation of women's sport. Women have unequal status in administrative and management roles in sport and leisure organizations. They are under represented in the coaching profession throughout all facets of sport and are also regarded as suitable for only certain types of sport role. Also access to sporting opportunities has been linked to how women negotiate their lives within male dominated society. Some changes have been documented and further change is required. Many sport and leisure organisations continue to be male dominated and oriented towards men's requirements. Barriers to sport for women are many, including time and financial disincentives, lack of self confidence and poor self image.

Many women once they reach a certain age may not feel comfortable or confident participating in certain activities that they may have done when they were younger. Often exercise classes can be full of young women or pitched at a certain activity level that is off putting as a person gets older. Research has shown that for some older women, they are not interested in the same activities as younger women and often find it hard to find activities that meet their needs or interests. Recent research has found that about a third of girls don't like others to see how they look when taking part in sport and physical activity. Girls, whose main motivation was enjoyment, rather than changing their weight, were far less likely to feel self-conscious about taking part. Girls were less self-conscious when their friends took part. Plenty of research shows that girls, on average, have less self-confidence than boys and rate their performance or ability more negatively than do boys. Indeed, a boy bursting with self-confidence will be admired and encouraged while a girl similarly full of confidence can be put down as 'a little madam.'

Self-confidence is also linked to competition. Although most sportswomen enjoy the competitive element of sport, many girls and women are turned off sport because it's competitive. This is one of the reasons why 'aesthetic activities', such as aerobics, gymnastics, yoga, are increasingly popular amongst girls and young women, and why some traditional team sports are less popular. Girls find competitiveness is more of a problem in mixed groups, where boys raise the level of competitiveness through making negative and sexist comments and bullying.

More women than men say that lack of money prevents them from taking part in sport and physical activity. Women tend to have less income than men; women working full time earn on average £559 less per month than men do. Poor families may not be able to afford to invest in club membership, or pay for sporting clothing and equipment.

What is Being Done?

The sports council has targeted women in a number of campaigns. In 1993 it published a policy and framework for action which still applies. It aims to improve girl's skills and to develop a positive attitude to an active life. Also to increase opportunities for women to take part in sport, while also increasing the opportunities for them to improve their level of performance. Their other aims include: increasing the number of women involved in the organisation of sport, encourage all organizations to have equal opportunities and improve communication about women in sport. In order to give women equal opportunities to that of men, all of these aims need to be achieved.

In order to solve the problem of a lack of equal opportunity for women in the media, pressure must be exerted on the media to ensure a greater quality of coverage. This coverage must focus on women's sport as opposed to women in sport. The Association for Women in Sport Media is a volunteer-managed, nonprofit founded in 1987 as a support network and promotion group for women who work in sports writing, editing, broadcast and production, and public and media relations. Their membership of more than 400 men and women includes professionals in the industry and students aspiring to sports media careers. The Association for Women in Sport Media works to promote and increase diversity in sports media through their internship/scholarship program, which has placed more than 90 female college students in paid internships since 1990, as well as through mentoring links and career-enhancement initiatives. They annually pay tribute to individuals who have paved the way for women in sports media with the Mary Garber Pioneer Award and they help those who encounter barriers that have yet to be broken. This improves communication for women's sport, as the female population may listen closer to the reporters if they are the same sex. On most news programs, such as Sky Sports News, there is one male presenter and one female.

To eliminate the problem of the lack of equity of representation for women, sports and leisure organisations must look inwards and women be empowered through support networks and advice; more women coaches will aid female sports participation. Also the problem that older women are often seen as incapable instead of being candidates for sporting excellence needs to be addressed. Opportunities should be advertised and health and benefits promoted and role models put forward. If older people have not exercised for a long time it is hard to get their bodies working again. Another problem is that some many not have had the opportunity to learn skills when they were young.

The Women's Sport Foundation (WSF) produced an action plan which has tried to improve the targets for women's sport. The plan involved working to get governing bodies to review their equal opportunities policies; getting more women promoted to top jobs in sport; eliminating all discriminatory clauses in clubs and associations constitutions; and making sports facilities more friendly for women. Over time much has been done along these lines, but it is an ongoing task.

Barriers in Soccer, Football

The fact that football is so popular worldwide confuses the fact that women's football isn't as popular as the male's equivalent. I have already discussed possible reasons why women's sport isn't seen as popular as men's sport, however now I will look at football in particular. Obviously individuals in connection with the women's game want to improve interest, attendance and enthusiasm for the sport. I will try and suggest certain improvements which could be made to the women's game.

While researching the problems faced within this sport for women, I came across a problem solving technique devised by G. Brown and M. Atkins (1988) which involved four stages. Stage one involves identifying and stating the problem, looking at it and exploring it. The problem that I am addressing is related to why women's football isn't as popular as the men game. I have identified possible reasons behind this in my assignment so far, including the media's influence, the lack of role models, and the bad publicity which female athletes or players receive. The second stage requires me to use previous knowledge of problem and relate it to similar problems. Thirdly I need to devise an approach to try and solve the problem. Finally I need to evaluate my approach. There are many approaches to help to solve a problem. I have decided to use a clear way to analyse the problem, which is the SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It focuses on both the internal and external conditions of a problem.

The strengths of the women's game are limited and relatively unknown as the sport isn't publicised very much. However there are obvious ones, such as the fact that women's football has an extensive background, although the sport is just over a century old it has developed greatly. The game has received some praise amidst the criticisms, such as Sepp Blatters quote, "The future is feminine." Although this could be classed as an opportunity, this is also a strength as the game has obviously set a good standard and also has set its sights on a thriving future. There is also the strength that more and more females are making an appearance in the male's game therefore proving that females are just as equipped as males.

Unfortunately there are a number of weaknesses in the female's game. These can be both to the individual players and as the sport as a whole. There is also the fact that the media portrays football to be masculine dominated and as a 'un-ladylike' sport. The sizes of the governing bodies which deal with women's football are also considerably smaller than the male's equivalent. There are many weaknesses, mostly due to the media's bad publicity of the sport. However there are potential opportunities within the sport.

The F.A had set an ambitious target for the England women's team to win the 2007 World Cup. This signified the growing confidence in a sport which is constantly growing in popularity. In terms of opportunities, the game has many unvisited paths which they could pursue, such as advertising, larger sponsorship deals. There is also the opportunity to televise more women's matches, for instance in the 2001/2002 season the first women's FA Cup Final was televised live. This portrays the great strides which the sport has taken in terms of development. However, with this strength there is a weakness, in this case there are threats which could affect the opportunities available. For instance, in economic terms, there is money available to women's football, although it may be seen as a risk as the game isn't popular enough to invest as much money into it as the men's game. There is also the threat to the English game from America, as the game over there receives more money and is far more glamorised. Therefore, the competition from their American rivals has increased and in Kelly Smiths case, American clubs are signing some of England's better players.

I think in order to improve interest, participation and spectators in women's football, there is a need to concentrate on one main part of the sport. I feel the most influential tool at the governing bodies' disposal would be the media. I have previously discussed the media and the way, in which it lowers the women's game. Ultimately, televised sport and news reports should provide more coverage of existing women's sports. The female game shouldn't be treated differently to the men's game and male officials in the women's game are very strict when it comes to physical contact. There should be fines and bans available to individuals who use derogatory or sexist language towards the women's game. Television networks should commit themselves to more equal amounts of coverage of women's football, especially during regular season. The amount of resources and technical and production quality as well as equipment should be equivalent to the coverage of the men's game.
Another issue apart from media is that the women's game should evolve from its current amateur status to a professional league. The profile of women's football in America has been raised over recent years and there are positive signs which could encourage the English to adopt the same policies. Talking to American sponsors, marketing and media is another option for the F.A, as they need to explore different ways in which they can introduce a professional status, without the prospect of failure. Top football managers in England and even some players have remarked that women have no place in the game as players or even as spectators. But attitudes are changing and with more exposure and sponsorship for the women's game, progress can be made. Major changes are being made both at the elite level of the pyramid and at the grass root levels of the game. Ultimately, one of the major advantages available to the F.A, is the tremendous marketability of football at present, therefore all the governing body has to do for women's football is to improve coverage and exposure to it, therefore in the future the game may be able to compete, both in terms of economic status and the interest generated, with men's football.