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
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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Conclusions (3)
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'.
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.