Select committee: Women and Equalities Committee
Conclusion 12
Third Report - Health barriers for girls and women in sport
Published 5 Mar 2024
Paragraph 78
Addressed to Government Equalities Office
Women and Equalities Committee Sexism and inequalities in sport All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
It is symptomatic of gender inequality and sexism in the sports sector that the first football boot in the world designed around female feet came to the market less than four years ago. Since then, limited progress has been made by the largest sports brands, who between them have produced only a handful of football boots designed specifically for the needs of girls and women. Some of those that are available are at a price many people cannot afford. It is also disappointing that Sports Direct, the UK’s largest sports retailer, appears unwilling to promote football boots to women and girls in store and does not stock a wide a range of boots designed specifically for women. Girls and women at all levels of sport deserve kit and equipment properly researched and designed for their health, wellbeing, and performance needs. At a time of soaring interest in women’s sport, the sector must do better. The aim must be to provide an equal range of sports kit and equipment designed to meet girls’ and women’s needs, at a comparable range of price points, as is available to boys and men.
From: Women and Equalities Committee, Third Report - Health barriers for girls and women in sport (HC 130), paragraph 78, 5 March 2024
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 17 May 2024 (deadline 7 May 2024).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government welcomes the Committee's report and states that it accepts "most of the report recommendations", partially accepting some, including those on RSHE education, the This Girl Can campaign and maternity policy.
- On menstrual cycle education (Recommendation 1), the Government "partially accepts" and says menstruation is already taught within statutory RSHE. The Department for Education is reviewing the RSHE statutory guidance and will release updated guidance "as soon as possible".
- On PE kit (Recommendation 2), the Government accepts the recommendation and says the Department for Education is "committed to continually reviewing" its school uniform and PE kit guidance.
- On the School Sport and Activity Action Plan, the Department for Education "does not accept" the part of Recommendation 3 on updating it with targets, as there are "no current plans" to do so. It points instead to non-statutory PE guidance published in March 2024.
- On integrity in sport (Recommendation 10), the Government accepts the recommendation and says it received over 600 responses to its call for evidence. It will set out the results and next steps "in due course".