• Not having enough time (19%) is one of the biggest barriers for Asian women getting active outdoors
• Limited access to local green spaces (21%) are top barriers for Black women to getting active outdoors
• Not feeling fit enough, not having enough time and feeling self-conscious are top barriers to women getting active outdoors
• This Girl Can is encouraging women to get active outdoors this summer as part of the new Let’s Get Out There initiative

Saheli Hub Birmingham – This Girl Can. Photo Lucy Ray/PA Media Assignments

Seven in 10 (70%) women would like to do more physical activity outdoors, but are held back by multiple barriers, according to research released today.

This Girl Can – the nationwide campaign from Sport England to support all women to get active – recognises the barriers are felt even more by certain communities. One of the biggest barriers for Asian women is not having enough time (19%), while not having access to a local green space (21%) is a top barrier for Black women.

As part of Let’s Get Out There, This Girl Can is highlighting four groups across the country helping women from diverse communities to get active outside this summer. By giving a platform to the groups already paving the way in this space, This Girl Can hopes to inspire the inception of more groups across the country, as well as showing women there are groups out there for them. This includes Swim Sista Swim in Nottingham, Saheli Hub in Birmingham, Blaze Trails in York and Muslimah Sports Association in East London.

Leader of Muslimah Sports Association, a group offering a safe space for Muslim women to enjoy exercise, Yashmin Harun comments: “As an organisation working with specific groups, we need to understand specific cultural sensitivities, such as aversions to dogs and adherence to prayer times. This helps to create an environment where Muslim women feel comfortable to get active outdoors and can voice their needs without fear of judgement.”

Swim Sister Swim canoe Pictured (l-r)Carol Burrell,, Audrey Martin, Sharon Thomas and Janet Rose. Photo: Fabio De Paola/PA Media Assignments

Women in the UK found that not feeling fit enough (25%), not having enough time (25%), not wanting to show their bodies (15%) and not having anyone to get active with (14%) are the biggest barriers women face to getting active outdoors.

The women surveyed said more time to exercise outdoors (24%), having access to a space where there aren’t lots of people (21%) and having someone to exercise with (19%) would help them to get active outdoors.

Kate Dale, Director of Marketing at Sport England and This Girl Can, said: “With the weather hopefully warming up this summer, women want to get active outdoors – but numerous barriers like not having enough time, feeling self-conscious and not having anyone to go with are holding them back. Some of these are felt even more by different communities.

This Girl Can. Photo: Jas Lehal/PA Media Assignments

“This Girl Can celebrates and supports women being active in a way that’s right for them. Let’s Get Out There is highlighting the great work that community leaders are already doing to help every woman enjoy the benefits of outdoor activity.”

With the support of Forestry England, Canal & River Trust and Ordnance Survey, Let’s Get Out There is highlighting the work of these organisations and community leaders to help reduce barriers for women to get active outdoors and encourage others across the sector to follow suit.

The campaign aims for women to think of nature and outdoor spaces as places to enjoy, for both improving their physical health at low costs and general wellbeing.

To find out more visit: https://www.thisgirlcan.co.uk/news/lets-get-out-there

With thanks to This Girl Can

• New data finds almost half (46%) of women change their outdoor physical activity routine as a direct result of the darker months
• Six in 10 women (60%) are concerned about the risk of sexual harassment or intimidation when getting active outdoors in the dark
• This Girl Can rallies women in #LetsLiftTheCurfew run to raise awareness of the issues they face when getting active outdoors, particularly after the clocks go back 30th October 2023

Kate Dale (centre) with women from running groups across London taking part in This Girl CanÕs #LetsLiftTheCurfew run. Photo credit: Doug Peters/PA Wire

On Monday 30th October This Girl Can rallied women in a run around Westminster to draw attention to the safety concerns preventing them getting active during darker months. Fears for their own safety and darker evenings cause a drop-off in women enjoying exercising outdoors during the winter, with new research revealing almost half (48%) of women do not like to get active outdoors after dark.

Six in 10 (60%) women surveyed are also concerned about the risk of sexual harassment or intimidation when being active as the nights draw in.

Following the clocks going back on Sunday, and the significantly shorter daylight hours this brings, women came together for a #LetsLiftTheCurfew run to raise awareness of the safety issues they face during winter. Organised by This Girl Can, the 5km run was attended by representatives from running groups across London including London City Runners, Black Girls Do Run and The Say Yes Club. The motivation for the run was highlighted on an accompanying roving digital screen travelling around Westminster and central London, passing landmarks including the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. On it, real quotes from women and striking graphics of women being active brought to life the stark contrast women feel between getting active in daylight and in darkness. During the winter months, a perceived ‘curfew’ hinders women’s likeliness to engage in outdoor exercise, with the fear of being active outdoors in darkness making women feel ‘anxious’, ‘vulnerable’ and ‘unsafe’.

#LetsLiftTheCurfew aims to highlight these concerns, amplify women’s voices and advocate for solutions that make outdoor sport and physical activity a safer and more inclusive experience for all. This Girl Can’s new research found almost half (46%) of women change their outdoor exercise routine or habits as a direct result of the darker months. Two in five (40%) feel limited due to this, and more than a quarter (27%) feel sad or frustrated.

The activity intended to spark conversation following a Sport England parliamentary roundtable on Thursday, 19 October around the safety issues women face when getting active. Attended by thought leaders including Caroline Nokes MP, Kim Leadbeater MP, and Sharon Gaffka, Influencer and Violence Against Women & Girls campaigner, the session identified key themes and action areas for making sport and physical activity safer for women:

1. Culture – education around respect for and allyship with women is needed from a young age, and women’s experiences must be taken seriously, including minor aggressions which can build to make women feel unsafe

2. Reporting – ensuring proper frameworks are in place to report misogynistic behaviour of all levels in a range of environments

3. Planning – planning environments, including sports and games areas in public outdoor spaces, e.g. skateparks, with a female lens

4. Data – identifying and implementing opportunities to share safety information to inform solutions

5. Community – acknowledging the power in partnerships to reach broader audiences with important messages.

Kate Dale, Director of Marketing at Sport England and This Girl Can, said: “As daylight hours diminish, many women are opting to stay indoors due to safety concerns, resulting in decreased physical activity levels. The impact of this on women’s overall health and well-being is of massive concern and requires both attention and intervention.

“It’s not right that for nearly half the year, we feel we have fewer options to be active in the ways that work for us. And even if we go out despite these fears, it’s harder to get the joy, freedom and confidence that physical activity can bring if you’re constantly looking over your shoulder or monitoring your surroundings. It’s yet another emotional barrier, something else we have to manage if we want to build activity into our routines and lives.

“Helping women feel safe when getting active is not a singular responsibility; we need everyone to engage with the issue. Our parliamentary roundtable helped to facilitate this, bringing parliamentarians, experts, academics and influencers together to discuss how we can make sport and physical activity feel and be safe for women, 12 months a year.

“It was a powerful session and we are optimistic about the change we can bring about. We must all work together to keep the conversation going, while bringing on board individuals, groups and organisations across wider society to understand their role in making women feel safer when getting active.”

#LetsLiftTheCurfew is part of This Girl Can’s broader mission to close the Enjoyment Gap – the fact 2.4 million fewer women than men enjoy getting active – by empowering society, including sport and physical activity providers, to make exercise safe, suitable, social and self-affirming for women. Those involved in the run wore t-shirts emblazoned with first-hand quotes from women about how they feel when getting active outdoors during the darker hours of winter. This Girl Can is calling on the public to join the conversation. Together, #LetsLiftTheCurfew.

With thanks to This Girl Can

Almost half of women (45 percent) in the UK are worried about showing their body when getting active during the summer, according to new data by This Girl Can.

This Girl Can

Fitness levels and self-esteem issues are other barriers for women considering whether to exercise over the summer, with nearly half (48 percent) reporting they are too unfit and two in five (40 percent) feeling not good enough.

The research explores the emotional and practical barriers behind women doing sport and physical activity during the summer months.

One in three of women (33 percent) are worried about being sweaty when getting active over the warmer summer period, while at least one in four have concerns about being menopausal (27 percent) or being on their period (25 percent).

As part of its bid to support women to Make Your Summer Move This Girl Can recently launched its first activewear range in partnership with F&F at Tesco.

With over three in five women (61 percent) saying wearing their favourite activewear makes exercising in the summer more enjoyable, Kate Dale, Director of Marketing at Sport England hopes the new range will make getting active more accessible to all:

“This is our reminder to women – of all shapes, sizes, ability and age – that nothing should hold us back from enjoying getting active this summer,” Kate said.

“Our new activewear range carries the powerful This Girl Can logo. We hope this empowers more women to get active and reminds them that sweat, menopause or periods shouldn’t hold them back; they absolutely can make the most of the summer.”

This Girl Can

The adult line by This Girl Can and Tesco F&F is available in UK sizes 6-22, and the range includes ‘mini-me’ sets for girls aged 5-14 years-old. This Girl Can and Tesco hope the new launch will encourage families to continue exercising together, after discovering three-quarters of women (76 percent) enjoy getting active with their family over summer. Prices start from RRP £12, with a proportion of the proceeds from sales being invested into funding grassroots sport for women and girls via Sport England.

“Since This Girl Can was born in 2015, we’ve been helping women to battle the deep-rooted fear of judgement. While we’ve made significant strides, it’s an ongoing fight. We exist to support women in overcoming these types of emotional barriers, so they can enjoy getting active the way they deserve,” Kate said.

“From jogs with friends over a catch-up to solo strolls or family bike rides, summer is a brilliant time to reap the benefits of moving your body while enjoying the great outdoors.”

This Girl Can is a movement by Sport England to empower women and girls of all shapes, sizes and sporting abilities by showing there is no “right” way to get active. The campaign’s current phase, ‘This Girl Can With You’, focuses on closing the exercise Enjoyment Gap recently revealing 2.4 million fewer women than men find sport and exercise enjoyable.

After years battling an unhealthy relationship with food and exercise, a pandemic hobby helped Sarah, 31, Dorset, finally find enjoyment in moving her body:

“Picking up paddle boarding has changed my life,” Sarah said. “I move for my mental health. For the first time in my life, I am enjoying movement for the way it makes me feel strong and capable, rather than the number of calories that it burns.

“Before getting involved in paddle boarding, I felt like the outdoors wasn’t for me. I didn’t see bodies that looked like mine represented on social media or in adverts.”

While she has found her joy through paddle boarding, Sarah acknowledges there is a long way to go before equal opportunities are available for all women to get active.

“Despite the diverse community in paddle boarding, kit isn’t widely available in my size from most providers. I am on a mission to fight for representation and inclusive kit,” Sarah added.

Sarah is supporting This Girl Can and its goal to ensure sport and physical activity are enjoyable and accessible to all women.

To learn more about This Girl Can, visit: thisgirlcan.co.uk/makeyoursummermove

With thanks to This Girl Can and 23red

• Sunday Sept 20: Milford Hall Cricket Club, Staffordshire, 10.00-15.00
• Sunday Sept 20: Timperley Sports Club, Lancashire, 10.00-15.00
• Sunday Sept 27: Plumtree Cricket Club, Nottinghamshire, 11.00-17.00

The festivals focus on being fun, social and inclusive and involve six- and eight-a-side matches.  Participants are able to sign-up individually, with a friend or with a group of friends as a team.  Find our more here.

So, come along and join in the fun, whether starting from scratch or wanting to improve your skills: time to show that this girl definitely can!

England Women then took to the field and managed to hold off a very keen Hampstead Cricket Club Men’s XI by just 10 runs.

England batted first and put 175 on the scoreboard through Charlotte Edwards (30), Sarah Taylor (23) and 46 not out from Natalie Sciver.

It didn’t look as if 175 would be enough when Hampstead’s opening pair galloped to 132 for the first wicket, but bowlers Heather Knight (2/20) and Becky Grundy (2/32) proved to be the difference for England.

#ThisGirlCan Play Cricket now moves on to four other locations around the country over the next couple of weeks.