Select Committee · Women and Equalities Committee

Sexism and inequalities in sport

Status: Closed Opened: 2 May 2023 Closed: 28 May 2024 12 recommendations 7 conclusions 1 report

Following earlier sessions on football, timed to coincide with the 2022 men’s World Cup, the Women and Equalities Committee is examining sexism and inequality in sport more widely. A key focus will be on how girls’ and women’s health and physiology – body image, injuries and sports-related illnesses, periods, pregnancy and maternity, and perimenopause and …

Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Third Report - Health barriers for girls and women in sport HC 130 5 Mar 2024 19 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

5 items
1 Conclusion Third Report - Health barriers for girl… Accepted

Existing programmes fail to address girls' health barriers or reverse declining PE enjoyment.

Girls face a number of distinctive health and physiology-related barriers to participation in, and enjoyment of, sport and physical activity, from early years to post-puberty. Existing programmes and interventions from the Government and other bodies, while welcome, do not yet go far enough in addressing these barriers and are yet …

Government response. The government partially accepted the recommendation, committing to reviewing and releasing updated Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) statutory guidance, and conducting further work including a call for evidence to review PE delivery, but did not commit to setting specific …
Government Equalities Office
6 Recommendation Third Report - Health barriers for girl… Accepted

Require Minister for Women officials to attend National Physical Activity Taskforce to address girls' distinct needs.

Given the very distinctive issues for girls, and to ensure their needs are not overlooked, we recommend the Minister for Women and Equality Hub officials attend the National Physical Activity Taskforce, alongside organisations with data and expertise in this area, including Youth Sport Trust and The Well HQ. The Taskforce …

Government response. The government accepts the recommendation, stating it has already established the National Physical Activity Taskforce (NPAT) and the Board of Women’s Sport, and regularly meets with relevant organisations to address women's and girls' activity barriers.
Government Equalities Office
14 Recommendation Third Report - Health barriers for girl… Accepted

Inconsistent knowledge and support for sportswomen's health needs among coaches and teams.

The level of knowledge and support for sportswomen’s health needs varies greatly between individual coaches and coaching teams. There are also wide variations in the adequacy of support across different sports. The national governing bodies we heard from were each taking their own steps to address this. While we support …

Government response. The government accepts the recommendation, detailing that Sport England is establishing a Women in Coaching Taskforce to address barriers, developing a "This Girl Can" inspired training course for instructors, and undertaking a £100,000 action learning project to improve support for …
Government Equalities Office
15 Recommendation Third Report - Health barriers for girl… Accepted

Convene a working group to develop strategy for educating coaches in female health.

We recommend that UK Sport, Sport England, UK Coaching, the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity and the national governing bodies Health barriers for girls and women in sport 41 come together to convene a female health in coach education working group. It should draw on …

Government response. The government accepts the recommendation, detailing Sport England's work with Women in Sport to facilitate a Women in Coaching Taskforce, develop a 'This Girl Can' training course, and implement a £100,000 action learning project focused on female health education for …
Government Equalities Office
17 Recommendation Third Report - Health barriers for girl… Accepted

Require DCMS to publish detailed insights, next steps, and timetable for integrity in sport.

Issues of bullying, harassment, abuse, and discrimination are not limited to swimming, with issues emerging across several sports in recent years. We welcome the DCMS’s call for evidence on integrity in sport, which closed three months ago, and expect to see tangible actions as a result. In response to this …

Government response. The government accepts the recommendation, stating it will publish insights from the integrity call for evidence and outline next steps, while noting the Sport Integrity service is increasingly used and its performance is being monitored by UK Sport.
Government Equalities Office

Oral evidence sessions

3 sessions
Date Witnesses
22 Nov 2023 Dame Katherine Grainger DBE · UK Sport, Dr Craig Ranson · UK Sports Institute, Emily Handyside · UK Coaching, Jeanette Bain-Burnett · Sport England View ↗
6 Sep 2023 Jo Ward · Lawn Tennis Association, Kelly Gordon · England Netball, Nick Pink · England Hockey View ↗
14 Jun 2023 Baz Moffat · The Well HQ, Dr Louise Newson · The Menopause Charity, Eboni Usoro-Brown, Janet Birkmyre, Kate Seary · Kyniska Advocacy, Lisa West · Women in Sport, Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne, Shaunagh Brown View ↗

Correspondence

17 letters
DateDirectionTitle
24 Apr 2024 Correspondence with Frasers Group, relating to the categorisation of football b…
21 Mar 2024 Correspondence to Group CEO, Frasers Group PLC regarding barriers faced by wome…
10 Jan 2024 Correspondence from Sport England, relating to Sexism and inequalities in sport…
10 Jan 2024 Correspondence from Minister for Schools, relating to health and physiology- re…
10 Jan 2024 Sport integrity statistics received from UK Sport, December 2023
10 Jan 2024 Correspondence from UK Sports Institute, relating to Sexism and inequalities in…
13 Dec 2023 Correspondence from Minister for Sport, Gambling and Civil Society, relating to…
6 Dec 2023 Correspondence from the Youth Sport Trust relating to the Sexism and inequaliti…
29 Nov 2023 Correspondence from the Chair to the Minister for Schools, relating to Health a…
29 Nov 2023 Correspondence from the Chair to the Minister for Women's health Strategy and M…
8 Nov 2023 Correspondence from Nike, relating to football boots
8 Nov 2023 Correspondence from Sports Direct, relating to football boots
8 Nov 2023 Correspondence from the FA Director of Women's Football, The Football Associati…
25 Oct 2023 Correspondence from the Chief Executive Officer Swim England, relating to the h…
25 Oct 2023 Correspondence to Chief Executive Officer Swim England, relating to the health …
7 Aug 2023 Responses from Sports Executives on design and manufacture of football boots
5 Jul 2023 To cttee Letter from the Chair to Sport Executives on the design and manufacturing of fo…