Levelling the playing field
Girls Gotta Run Foundation teaches girls confidence and leadership through running. (Courtesy of Sosi Moss)
Research shows that playing sports helps girls thrive in school, at home and in their careers — but gender gaps in athletics persist in almost every country.
No matter how you play a sport — on professional pitches, in an empty lot, on a team of 15 or training solo — one thing is certain: Playing sports enriches both girls and their communities.
When girls succeed on the field, they are more likely to succeed in the classroom. While this is true regardless of gender, researchers found the relationship between athletic and academic achievement is stronger for girls. Studies also revealed that girls in the U.S. who played sports were more likely to excel in traditionally male-dominated subjects, like STEM.
The benefits of playing sports last long after girls leave the classroom. Athletics teach girls collaboration, negotiation, leadership, competition and confidence, skills essential to thriving in the modern workforce. In a study by Ernst and Young, a leading consulting company, 94% of business leaders interviewed said they played sports. Annual wages of former athletes are on average about 7% higher than those of non-athletes in the U.S. And a 2010 study found that a 10% rise in athletic participation in girls led to a 1–2% rise in female labour force participation.
Alongside academic and professional benefits, sports also help girls learn physical autonomy and integrity, helping them feel control and ownership over their bodies and understand their abilities and limits. Sports also create safe environments for girls to talk about their bodies and health, leading to conversations on more sensitive issues like sexual and reproductive health rights. Those participating in sport often also report improved mental health, particularly among athletes playing as part of a team.
“When girls succeed on the field, they are more likely to succeed in the classroom.”
With all these benefits, you’d think that every country would be encouraging girls’ participation in sports. Looking at major sporting events, it can look like the world is making progress towards gender equality in athletics. 48.8% of the athletes scheduled to compete in the Tokyo Olympics were women. Between the 2014 and 2018 Winter Paralympics, the number of female athletes competing increased by 44%. Female athletes are dominating social feeds. But while it appears that the playing fields are levelling at the highest (and most visible) levels, local and national sports still lag in gender equality.
Aside from in a few Nordic countries, girls and women participate in sport at lower rates than boys and men in every country. In India, only 29% of women report playing sports compared to 42% of men. As many as 90% of Pakistani women do not participate in any sport. And in the U.S., girls often enter sports later, participate in fewer numbers and stop playing earlier than boys.
Practical and environmental factors — such as lack of facilities or transportation — often make it difficult for girls to participate in sports. Around 40% of primary schools in India do not include physical education in the curriculum and almost half don’t have any sports equipment available. In many countries, women face physical security concerns in accessing facilities where they can compete safely. In some communities, girls and boys must play separately, which requires expensive segregated changing facilities, indoor spaces and dedicated transport for girls. Many girls and women report struggling to find or afford appropriate athletic clothing, while girls with disabilities face an even greater cost barrier for specialised sports equipment.
Discriminatory gender norms also prevent girls from becoming athletes. In the U.K., 43% of girls surveyed said that fear of being judged about their appearance stopped them participating in sport and exercise. In general, girls are more likely to be overburdened by household chores and care work, leaving little time to participate in sport and leisure activities. A study on women’s participation in sport across African countries tells us that “dominant ideologies about female inferiority” and “cultural practices privileging female passivity” reinforce exclusion and marginalisation of girls in sport. Girls therefore often lack parental support when they show an interest in playing sports. As Raha Moharrak, the first Saudi woman to summit Mount Everest, testifies: convincing her family to let her climb mountains was harder than the climb itself.
So, what’s the game plan? It is clear that sport has the potential to help girls thrive in school, at home and in their careers, but there are still barriers to equal participation beyond the highest levels.
“It is clear that sport has the potential to help girls thrive in school, at home and in their careers, but there are still barriers to equal participation beyond the highest levels.”
To begin with, we need investment. We need to encourage leaders at every level to champion physical education in schools, create safe spaces for girls to train, fund women-led sports programmes for girls and invest in female coaches. Take a cue from your local area — what do you see (or not see) around you? Write to your local representative or ask your school or college principal to consider providing programmes or spaces for girls’ sport.
Second, we need a new narrative. Female athletes may not have equal coverage in the mainstream media but we can amplify the efforts of smaller outlets working to give women’s sports the attention they deserve. For starters, check out the rest of Assembly’s Game Changers series, watch Women Win’s digital stories or listen to feminist sports podcast “Burn It All Down.” Follow social media campaigns like #ThisGirlCan or #SheBreaksBarriers to see what female athleticism looks around the world.
Finally, we need an audience. If you can’t play but can watch, tune in. More fans brings more investment in women’s sport, opens up new partnership opportunities for female athletes and creates more role models for future generations to look up to.
A generation of firsts in female athletics has created the momentum we need to level the playing field for girls everywhere. They might have made history, but the future is on us.
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