Participation levels

A national target has been set for two million more people to be more active by 2012, of which at least one million should be women. But with 24 million women not doing enough physical activity, that should be only the beginning.

With practical recommendations, the strategy provides a framework, compromising three key imperatives, for those who develop policy and design, and who deliver and promote sport and exercise for women and girls.

Did you know that more than 80% of women are not doing enough physical activity to benefit their health? Young women aged 16 – 24 are nearly half as active as their male counterparts. The statistics are even worse for low income and black and minority ethnic women.

Forecasts in participation rates for women in the next ten years show an even gloomier picture: one forecast shows a potential fall of 5.5% by 2017. This could amount to 1.25 million fewer women being sufficiently active.

At the same time, three out of five women believe that they do enough exercise to be healthy, whereas in reality less than one in five are actually doing enough.

These figures come at a time when Sport England has pledged to increase participation in sport and exercise by 1% every year. A target of getting two million more people active by 2012 from low participation groups (including women) has been set.

Government is facing up to the challenge of creating a fitter and healthier nation – and the London 2012 Olympics have been sold on a promise of a legacy of increased participation – but this report argues that it’s time we faced up to the realities of trying to create a nation of more active women and girls.

It’s time … the sport sector viewed women on an equal basis as men.

It’s time … we made women aware of the importance of being active, and provided the activities and facilities that women want, where they want, and at the times they want.

It’s time … we took meaningful action to challenge a culture that allows girls to grow up believing it is more important to be thin than healthy.

Drawing on lessons from the world's most successful companies it makes the business case for having more women in sport's senior management and sets out recommendations on how organisations can achieve this.

Our aim at the Commission is to work hand-in-hand with leaders in sports bodies, to highlight the problems, provide practical solutions and to increase the number of women in leadership positions.

While our role focuses on gender, we also recognise that a balanced board should represent the full diversity of the community, including BME groups and disabled people too.