This Girl Can: Too Big to Tackle Alone
To kick off our work for This Girl Can, we wanted to focus on new research that revealed that only one in 10 women from lower-income backgrounds* feel they completely belong in the world of physical activity – highlighting deep-rooted barriers of exclusion, affordability and a lack of tailored support.
The research finds that for women on lower incomes from underrepresented groups – including Black women,Asian Muslim women, pregnant women, new mothers, and older women – the challenges and feelings of exclusion are even greater.
This is a big deal. 10 years after This Girl Can first launched, it has helped more than 3 million women to take part in sport. But this research proves that the job of helping more women to access sports has not been fully realised.
So we took to the streets of Birmingham with a large floor mural to show those ‘left behind’ women that we understood their challenges… and were here to help them. Because some challenges are too big to tackle alone.
We created full-length portraits of three women – Tamiah, 23, Birmingham; Maria, 24, Manchester;Christine, 63, Newcastle – and surrounded them with hundreds of real quotes depicting the barriers women face. The artwork was designed and illustrated byParis Anthony-Walker.
What does the research show?
The new research shows that feelings of exclusion are widespread. Almost two in five women (38%) on lower incomes have felt excluded from physical activity, with one in six (17%) feeling so unwelcome that they have never returned to that type of activity exercise or lost confidence to try something new. One in 10 (10%) have cried about the experience.
Over half of women (51%) on lower incomes feel they don’t belong in gyms and two in five (42%) feel the same about sports clubs. The issue is prevalent in public outdoor places women get active in too, with spaces like parks leaving one in six (17%) feeling out of place. Safety is another big concern, with almost one in five (18%)reporting that they have felt
unsafe or been stared at while trying to get active, and one in five (19%) have experienced inappropriate comments or assumptions.
Getting started is only part of the battle – for some, sticking with it is even harder. Only one in seven women (15%) on lower incomes gets active for the recommended 150+ minutes per week for six months or more. Among underrepresented groups, the figure is even lower, with fewer than one in eight (12%) managing to take part in physical activity regularly. This can drive poorer health outcomes in underrepresented groups who are not benefiting from the positive health impacts of an active lifestyle.**
What are the barriers to getting active?
When asked what stops them from being active, a mix of practical and emotional barriers illustrate the complexity of challenges facing women on lower incomes.
Nearly half of these women(49%) cite cost and affordability as the biggest barrier, while an equal percentage struggle with motivation. Energy levels and fatigue are also significant obstacles, affecting 43% of women. Confidence plays a major role too, with 38% feeling unsure about their ability level, while 36% say their bodies no longer moved like they used to.
This Girl Can: Too Big to Tackle Alone
To kick off our work for This Girl Can, we wanted to focus on new research that revealed that only one in 10 women from lower-income backgrounds* feel they completely belong in the world of physical activity – highlighting deep-rooted barriers of exclusion, affordability and a lack of tailored support.
The research finds that for women on lower incomes from underrepresented groups – including Black women,Asian Muslim women, pregnant women, new mothers, and older women – the challenges and feelings of exclusion are even greater.
This is a big deal. 10 years after This Girl Can first launched, it has helped more than 3 million women to take part in sport. But this research proves that the job of helping more women to access sports has not been fully realised.
So we took to the streets of Birmingham with a large floor mural to show those ‘left behind’ women that we understood their challenges… and were here to help them. Because some challenges are too big to tackle alone.
We created full-length portraits of three women – Tamiah, 23, Birmingham; Maria, 24, Manchester;Christine, 63, Newcastle – and surrounded them with hundreds of real quotes depicting the barriers women face. The artwork was designed and illustrated byParis Anthony-Walker.
What does the research show?
The new research shows that feelings of exclusion are widespread. Almost two in five women (38%) on lower incomes have felt excluded from physical activity, with one in six (17%) feeling so unwelcome that they have never returned to that type of activity exercise or lost confidence to try something new. One in 10 (10%) have cried about the experience.
Over half of women (51%) on lower incomes feel they don’t belong in gyms and two in five (42%) feel the same about sports clubs. The issue is prevalent in public outdoor places women get active in too, with spaces like parks leaving one in six (17%) feeling out of place. Safety is another big concern, with almost one in five (18%)reporting that they have felt
unsafe or been stared at while trying to get active, and one in five (19%) have experienced inappropriate comments or assumptions.
Getting started is only part of the battle – for some, sticking with it is even harder. Only one in seven women (15%) on lower incomes gets active for the recommended 150+ minutes per week for six months or more. Among underrepresented groups, the figure is even lower, with fewer than one in eight (12%) managing to take part in physical activity regularly. This can drive poorer health outcomes in underrepresented groups who are not benefiting from the positive health impacts of an active lifestyle.**
What are the barriers to getting active?
When asked what stops them from being active, a mix of practical and emotional barriers illustrate the complexity of challenges facing women on lower incomes.
Nearly half of these women(49%) cite cost and affordability as the biggest barrier, while an equal percentage struggle with motivation. Energy levels and fatigue are also significant obstacles, affecting 43% of women. Confidence plays a major role too, with 38% feeling unsure about their ability level, while 36% say their bodies no longer moved like they used to.
