Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Third Report - Health barriers for girls and women in sport
Women and Equalities Committee
HC 130
Published 5 March 2024
Recommendations
3
Deferred
Para 34
Urgently review and improve girls' health and menstrual cycle education quality and timeliness.
Recommendation
The Department for Education must urgently review the quality and timeliness of education on girls’ health and physiology, including the effects of puberty, the menstrual cycle, and periods in the context of PE and school sport. Whether part of PE …
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Government Response Summary
The government partially accepted the recommendation but deflected by focusing on existing physical activity campaigns, funding for PE and sport facilities, and the National Physical Activity Taskforce, without addressing the specific call to review and improve the quality and timeliness of girls' health and physiology education or teacher training.
Government Equalities Office
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4
Acknowledged
Para 35
Review school PE kit guidance to ensure widest choice for girls, including sports bras.
Recommendation
The evidence on girls’ anxieties around PE kit is overwhelming. We recommend the Department for Education and National Physical Activity Taskforce review guidance for schools on school PE kit, with the aim of ensuring all schools permit the widest possible …
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Government Response Summary
The government accepted the recommendation but provided a vague commitment, describing the general activities of the National Physical Activity Taskforce and the Board of Women's Sport, without outlining specific actions or timelines for reviewing PE kit guidance for schools to ensure wider choice for girls or advice on sports bras.
Government Equalities Office
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5
Deferred
Para 36
Launch "This Girl Can" campaign for parents and update School Sport Action Plan targets.
Recommendation
We recommend Sport England launch a new strand of the “This Girl Can” campaign aimed at parents, tackling early years gender stereotypes around physical activity and sport. This should include a specific focus on the positive role fathers can play …
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Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation but states decisions on Sport England's priorities are independent. While it will focus the next phase of 'This Girl Can' on women aged 50 and over, this differs from the recommended focus on parents and early years, and it does not commit to rolling out 'Studio You' or updating the DfE action plan.
Government Equalities Office
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6
Accepted
Require Minister for Women officials to attend National Physical Activity Taskforce to address girls' distinct needs.
Recommendation
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, …
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Government Response Summary
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
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8
Deferred
Para 45
Prioritise another 'This Girl Can' campaign phase focused on inspiring women in midlife.
Recommendation
We recommend Sport England prioritise another phase of the “This Girl Can” campaign focused on women in midlife, showing real life examples of women in the 40- to 60-year-old age group participating in a wide range of sports and physical …
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Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation but describes unrelated ongoing work by Sport England and other bodies focused on women in coaching and instructor training, not on launching a new phase of 'This Girl Can' specifically for women in midlife as recommended.
Government Equalities Office
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9
Deferred
Update DCMS 'Get Active' strategy with tailored interventions and targets for midlife women.
Recommendation
We recommend the DCMS update its “Get Active” strategy for the future of sport and physical activity in relation to women in midlife. It should work with organisations including Women in Sport and The Well HQ to include an analysis …
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Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation to update its 'Get Active' strategy for women in midlife but provides a response entirely unrelated, detailing Sport England's actions regarding Swim England's safeguarding and regulatory improvements.
Government Equalities Office
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13
Accepted in Part
Establish a taskforce to develop strategy addressing sportswomen's health, kit, and research representation.
Recommendation
We recommend the DCMS and DfE establish a taskforce, including UK Sport, the UK Sports Institute, women’s health and fitness experts including The Well HQ, sport and exercise research institutes, and the UK divisions of leading sportswear and sporting goods …
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Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation, stating it will use the existing National Physical Activity Taskforce and the recently established Board of Women’s Sport to tackle sportswomen's health and physiology, noting that suitable kit design will be part of future discussions.
Government Equalities Office
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14
Accepted
Para 92
Inconsistent knowledge and support for sportswomen's health needs among coaches and teams.
Recommendation
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 …
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Government Response Summary
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 sportswomen's health.
Government Equalities Office
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15
Accepted
Para 93
Convene a working group to develop strategy for educating coaches in female health.
Recommendation
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 …
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Government Response Summary
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 coaches and sports leaders.
Government Equalities Office
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17
Accepted
Require DCMS to publish detailed insights, next steps, and timetable for integrity in sport.
Recommendation
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 …
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Government Response Summary
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
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18
Accepted in Part
Para 120
Urge Government to actively support best practices for pregnancy and maternity in sport.
Recommendation
A long-overdue culture change is taking shape in sport around pregnancy and maternity. While policies and practices being adopted in funded Olympic and Paralympic sports and, to a lesser extent, in some professional women’s sports are welcome, there is still …
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Government Response Summary
The government partially accepts the recommendation, noting that employment rights for maternity and pay are determined by employment status and that sportswomen who are employees are entitled to statutory maternity leave and pay. It states that maternity leave and pay will be discussed by the Women’s Football Review Implementation Group and the Board of Women’s Sport.
Government Equalities Office
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19
Accepted in Part
Establish a permanent working group on best practice in pregnancy and maternity policy in sport.
Recommendation
We recommend the DCMS, UK Sport, Sport England and the sports’ national governing bodies establish a permanent working group on best practice in pregnancy and maternity policy, including maternity leave and pay and wider policies to support pregnant sportswomen and …
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Government Response Summary
The government partially accepts the recommendation, outlining existing statutory maternity rights and noting that the Board of Women's Sport, with UK Sport and Sport England, will include maternity leave and pay in its player welfare discussions.
Government Equalities Office
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Conclusions (7)
1
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 32
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 Summary
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 age-group targets.
2
Conclusion
Deferred
Para 33
Key anxieties for girls include concerns around periods, yet education on the menstrual cycle, despite being mandatory, is only being delivered in half of schools. It is shocking that around 50% of schools are disregarding a vital, and mandatory, element of the curriculum. Where it is being delivered, in most …
Government Response Summary
The government accepted the recommendation but deflected by responding solely on the importance of offering a wide choice of PE kit and sports bras for girls, including elite athletes, without addressing the core issue of inadequate menstrual cycle education.
7
Conclusion
Deferred
Para 44
Women in midlife face specific health-related barriers to participation, including but not limited to the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause. These occur after many have experienced barriers at earlier life stages, including in early years and at school during puberty. Many women at this life stage will have dropped out …
Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation to rectify strategy shortcomings but believes it can be achieved through the existing National Physical Activity Taskforce and the newly established Board of Women’s Sport, rather than committing to specific updates or rectifications of its 'Get Active' strategy itself.
10
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 76
There has been a slow and disparate response to disproportionately high rates of ACL injury in women’s football. We have no doubt that a health issue of similar magnitude affecting elite male footballers would have received a faster, more thorough, and better coordinated response. We agree with Karen Carney that …
Government Response Summary
The government accepts the conclusion, stating it intends to work with the sector on integrity challenges, has run a call for evidence on how issues are dealt with, and will set out the results and next steps 'in due course'.
11
Conclusion
Deferred
Para 77
While there are positive signs of change in the sports and exercise research sector, a more concerted and coordinated, cross-sector approach is required to achieve equality of attention to health and physiology-related issues affecting sportswomen, including those arising from kit and equipment. We note the Government’s acceptance of Karen Carney’s …
Government Response Summary
The government partially accepts the recommendation but largely responds by detailing employment rights, maternity leave, and pay for sportswomen, which is unrelated to the call for a more coordinated cross-sector approach for health, physiology, and kit issues.
12
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 78
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 …
Government Response Summary
The government accepts the implicit recommendation, stating that the National Physical Activity Taskforce and the Board of Women’s Sport will address issues regarding female-specific kit, and that this will form part of future discussions.
16
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 103
Public weighing and body-shaming of girls and young women is wholly unacceptable. That this should have occurred in a sports environment, in which girls already face barriers to participation, is deplorable. Swim England must restore trust in swimming’s coaching practices and culture, and Sport England must oversee the change process …
Government Response Summary
The government generally agrees with the report's aims and highlights existing commitments and targets for women's and girls' participation in sport. However, it does not specifically address the call for Sport England to oversee Swim England or provide an update within two months.