Factors Influencing Women 's Participation

Many people believe that gender inequality in sports is caused by lack of participation. However it is shown that 40 percent of sport and physical activity participants are women (Collins). They also feel that the reason for lack of participation is because society is sending out negative stereotypes that say women should not participate in sports for amusement (Wilde). The media is the one who is sending that stereotype out. Media are the ones that are pointing out that women should not want to be athletic and play in sports, and that they should only exercise so they look good. The media is saying that sports are for men not women. Sports are too masculine for women and women should be acting more

According to Smith (2010:98), issues of gender are core to social life and this fact makes the concerns of masculinity and femininity essential. Critical feminist theorists have stressed the importance of critiquing and changing the culture and (Pfister and Kristin 2013:208) body (physicality) of sport so that they represent the perspectives and experiences of women as well as men (Maguire 2002:207; Coakley 2001:39) with the aim to expose gender inequalities (Jarvis and Watts

Woman’s sustained involvement in ‘male’ team sports has only occurred relatively recently. Woman’s participation in sport has been blunted by

Women have always had less involvement in sport than men. There may be reasons as to why women have less involvement. They may stop playing sport to focus on other thing like having children or a family. Women with family may also find it difficult due to a lack of money and time. These barriers can occur at any level of sports continuum from someone who may just want to exercise to keep fit (participation stage) but feels they can’t as the only classes available to them are mixed sex classes which they are not comfortable with. Other example, of the barriers to women may be that at the performance or excellence stage lack sponsorship, media coverage and government funding in women’s sport. This in turn means that women are unable to continue sport as a career and are limited to the level they are able to achieve as they can’t live by only playing sports and must get a job. There has been a large improvement in the amount of women involved in sport since scheme and government funded activities have been put in place to increase numbers of women’s only classes, competitive clubs and female teams in traditional male sport such as rugby, football and

Sport contributes to gender, race and class inequalities and not very much work has been done to resolve the problem (Messner 1989). Talbot (2002:282) identify the neglect of scholarly articles to address the issue of sexual and structural prejudices, as well as discrimination (in the form of media biases, homophobia, legal challenge of exclusion in sports and sports organisations), as a factor which limit the opportunities for sportswomen (Pirinen 2002:101) resulting in women’s lower participation levels (Pedersen 1996:191).

It is a widely shared view by men and women through traditions, beliefs and social practices. This requires that women are not meant to be competitive in the all sports. Another barrier is the false association between participation in sport with socially unacceptable behaviours. From the worlds view main barriers for female’s participation in sports, it becomes a clear view that participation in sports requires challenging gender norms that prevents the hegemony through the Five Figueroa’s framework. The barriers preventing girls from participating in physical activities are equally relevant, barriers include poverty and scarcity of economic means this would enter into the cultural and structure level needs. Therefore the girls around the local community that it’s also not easy in encourage girls to participate in psychical activities that need to be well considered to reach a goal to participate in

Over the past 50 years, women’s sports have become more prevalent not only in the United States but also across the world. The ability for young girls and women to participate in athletics provides an avenue to experience competitive environments as well as build self-confidence in a world still dominated by men. During the early stages of women’s sports, the main idea was to show that women were worthy of having their own teams and organizations as an extension of the existing men’s sports. In other words, to prove to everyone the women could play many of the same sports that men could play.

Gender in sport has been an ongoing issue, especially for women, with many factors influencing their participation in sport

Despite the increased opportunity, female participation in sports is still low (Environmental Scan 2010:18). An important concern in sports research is ‘’developing an understanding’’ of what encourages or discourages participants. Sports research that concentrates on sports participation is minimal while research that links drive to participate in sports is ‘’sparse’’ (Kilpatrick et al 2005:87). Unlike other research methods, in ethnography, the researcher ‘’become immersed into a group’’ (Jones 2012:231) leading to better understanding of behaviors in natural settings Skinner et al (2015:168). Studies by Holt et al (2013) on sports opportunities in Canada established that the best method to collecting data is through participation. This approach helped the researchers collect ‘hidden’ data which otherwise would go unnoticed (Jones 2012:230).This paper sets out to ascertain what influences women’s participation in sports. The initial section of this paper will tackle the research question and objectives. The main research question for this paper is; what are the obstacles and facilitators to women’s participation in sports? The objectives will be able to establish what the participants identify and what I observe as the facilitators and obstacles to women’s participation in sports. In the second section of this paper, I will cover theoretical models and ethnographic background. The theories I will discuss include feminism, habitus, globalization and nationalization. I will use these theories to address the questions of how (Molnar and Kelly 2013:10) and why (Horn 2008:116) obstacles and facilitators impact on women participating in sports. I will outline how the theories will help me connect my data to existing knowledge. I will also identify the success and limitations of the theories in

The first step for this research is defining a problem. I would say that the problem with women and sports is that women are looked down upon as “not knowing anything”, when in reality that is a stereotype. Some women enjoy sports just as much as men and know just as much. Next is reviewing the literature, which includes thinking about possible ways to gather data and examining information. To gather data I would produce a survey

My study examines the factors women athletes identify as influences on their participation in sports. The findings show that there are both obstacles and facilitators which influence their participation in sport. Interpersonal, intrapersonal, recommendations and environmental factors are facilitators to participation in sports while obstacles include financial constraints, time, and lack of social support. This chapter will provide conclusions and recommendations.

The study contained 40 undergraduate sports students with different types of capabilities within sports. Ages (20.3 ± 1.7 years), height (1.76m ± 0.7m) and body mass (75.1kg ± 12.9kg) of these participants were recorded from the study beforehand. The participants whom took part would have to fill out a written consent form alongside a written PAR-Q form and have to be injury free, before taking part during the study.

The general notion that boys are better than girls in sports makes girls hesitant to participate in sports. The media does not help because they show the women’s sports are inferior by broadcasting majority men’s sports. As humans we want to be accepted in society but “the fact that the media deems women’s sport to be of lesser importance which (as we have seen) conveys to the public this message, reinforces the notion that sport is not a worthwhile activity for women and girls. Instead, it is an activity more appropriate for men and boys” (Trigatzis). If the media started to cover the women's sports equally, the women would start to feel like they are included and accepted in society. Less media coverage also repudiate sports for young girls. They would not want to play any sports because they are afraid they will be made fun of or people will view them as inferior. If the media would start covering more women's sports, it would make sports a more attractive option for young women. “Women would start playing because they no longer feel like they will be judged and they would start living a healthier lifestyle”

SPORTS AND games have been a part of human civilization from times immemorial. Sports and games provide a wonderful opportunity for holistic development of our body and mind. It inculcates a spirit of healthy competition and a true sense of patriotism within us. With the passage of time a lot of changes have taken place in the sporting world. In the beginning of the 21st century it is clearly evident that a huge amount of money, glamour, name, fame, media exposure and fan following has become an integral part of today 's competitive sports.

Women‘s equal participation in cooperatives is both a women‘s right and important for sustainable and people-centered development. If cooperatives are gender-responsive and inclusive, they can help women to overcome gender specific constraints to improve their self-confidence, knowledge, leadership skills, income, and access to agricultural inputs, social networks, and position in value-chains. When women are more economically and socially empowered, evidence shows that there are direct and positive impact on women‘s household and community decision-making power and on access to and control over productive assets. These changes lead to improved household nutrition, food and income security, broader development outcomes, and a more integrated production of both food and cash crops (Qui-sumbing, 2003; FAO, 2011; CSA and ICF International, 2012).