Empower their dreams
Let's see what the Olympics did for closing the gender dream gap as we look ahead to the World Cup
This time last year I wrote about a report from Women in Sport that stated there was a dream gap between boys and girls. It said 29% of girls dream of reaching the top in sport compared with 52% of boys.
I wrote about how bridging the gender dream gap is key to long term success within sport.
2025 brings good news. A recent study from Women in Sport after the 2024 Olympics said that more girls dream of achieving within sport.
38% of girls dream high compared to 59% of boys. The gender dream gap is still large, but more girls have high aspirations.
“Girls’ dream rates have risen significantly this year, climbing from around 30% in the last 3 surveys to 38% this year, but there remains a wide 21% gender gap in aspirations.” - Women in Sport
This is the fourth Women in Sport study looking at the gender dream gap. As the earlier percentage states, there is still a large gap between boys and girls.
34% of girls say that they love sport and want to do more and 28% said they don’t take part but want to.
The latest data shows that more girls love sport. However, there is a still a gap within participation. Meaning that more must be done to ensure girls get the continued opportunities to take part in and try different sports.
“Black girls (60%) are almost twice as likely to dream of reaching the top in sport than White British girls (33%).” - Women in Sport
The report from Women in Sport suggests that black girls, despite being one of the least active groups, dream the highest. In all gender groups, boys lead the way with their dreams of becoming a sportsperson.
There are clear gender and ethnicity barriers, the highest gap was between Asian boys and girls.
An Insight Pack from Women in Sport that provides advice to those looking to encourage Muslim women and girls into sport is a helpful starting point for anyone looking into making sport more accessible for everyone.
It suggested that when sport is delivered in schools or clubs is it not flexible enough to ensure Muslim girls have the opportunity to try different sports. This means girls may become disengaged from sport.
There are plenty of helpful suggestions within the Insight Pack that you can use for example: enable and encourage all girls to wear what they feel comfortable in, including those that may observe Islamic dress protocols.
“Girls cited stereotyping, lack of encouragement, lack of value placed on sport for girls vs boys, less funding and fewer opportunities as barriers to reaching the top of sport. Some of these barriers are amplified for girls from ethnic minority communities.” -Women in Sport
We need to show girls that we value them within sport. In 2023, the perception that people think sport is girls and didn’t matter for boys decreased. However, this has increased within this latest study.
Other gender stereotypes have decreased, yet girls are still fives times more likely to feel that they’re not expected to be good at sport.
Phrases such as “throw like a girl” are heard less and less, but they needs to be replaced with consistent and demonstrable positivity.
“The majority of girls and boys believe that gender equality will make sport better for everyone; but over a third of boys (36%) have concerns about the potential negative impact on men’s sports.” -Women in Sport
Girls’ perceptions on the barriers to participation and becoming a top sportsperson have changed. The idea that girls don’t have the opportunity to try different sports has dropped.
However digging into the report, the lack of local opportunities and clubs and the need for more role models are still felt as acute barriers by some girls.
“There is a disconnect in girls’ and boys’ perceptions of gender equality in sport. Compared to girls, boys are around twice as likely to say that girls receive the same level of respect, recognition, support, encouragement and opportunities in sport.” -Women in Sport
Overall, engagement with the 2024 Olympics was high. Girls tended to focus on empowerment and diversity when watching.
They had a higher percentage than boys on being inspired by: “diversity of athletes from different cultures”, “seeing people from different countries united through sport”, “equal visibility of male and female athletes” and “seeing people who look like me being celebrated”
This gives us an insight into the type of stories that will inspire young girls within rugby and other sports. It also starts to generate some excitement about the 2025 World Cup.
Like the recent competitions that Women in Sport have used to as a starting point to survey boys and girls, I hope the World Cup can help close the gender dream gap.
Reports like these are important, as they help track progress or lack of within sport. However, it’s key that they’re used not just by National Governing Bodies but by coaches and clubs to help guide and build programmes.
If you’re reading the report, try using some of the statistics at the next club committee meeting. You can also look at what inspired girls and boys at the Olympics to help build your next recruitment package or coaching session.
If you’re unable to sign up for regular paid subscription, you can still buy me a coffee.