Sport for Change Network – Women in Sport

Netball player inside an indoor sports hall raising a ball overhead with both hands to make a shot, wearing a sleeveless sports vest, with another player’s raised arms visible in the foreground and a teal wall and court markings in the background.

Sport for Change Network

Women in Sport & Physical Activity

The aim of the Women in Sport and Physical Activity Network is to support clubs in developing more female players, attracting more women to participate, and increasing the number of women coaching or volunteering in sport.

The reasoning behind this theme is because our PACES data shows significantly more male participation locally. Of club participation, 68% is adult male participation, and 32% is female participation. More than double the number of adult men take part in club sport, compared to women (2527 / 1183). We have 567 coaches reported on PACES with a 73% / 27 % male to female split. There are almost 3 times the number of male coaches to female coaches (416 / 151). Data source: PACES report (2022-2024)

Nationally, the 2021 Scottish Health Survey reports that 65% of women meet the moderate to vigorous physical activity guidelines compared to 73% of men. And Scottish Governing Bodies of Sport data (2021) shows that of all club members in sport across Scotland, only 26% are female. More can therefore be done locally to help address the balance.

As part of the network, we bring clubs together to:

Share their experience of gender stereotyping and explore ways to address this
Benefit from learning opportunities such as attending the Scottish Women in Sport Conference
Be role models for the wider sporting network through sharing of success stories