First Nations women
To encourage more First Nations women to participate in sport, it is important to listen to and collaborate with women in the community.
Traditions, cultural beliefs, history, and gender-specific factors play a role in why First Nations women are less likely to participate in sport, especially organised sport. 2, 17, 26, 27
While some First Nations women may prefer traditional activities such as music and/or craft (as opposed to 'westernised' sport) 8 others are eager to participate in sport at all levels. 27, 28
Some key facilitators for First Nations women to participate in sport include:
- Having active family and friends as role models; with inactive role models and communities identified as a barrier. 9, 18
- Group, community, or family activities, (e.g., fun runs, carnivals, and community competitions) that encourage social engagement and prioritise fun. 6, 7, 8, 10
- Women-only activities that encourage feelings of cultural safety. 6, 7, 8
To encourage more First Nations women to participate in sport it is important to listen to and collaborate with women in the community, enabling them to take leadership and control of what activities will best support individual and community health and wellbeing. 7, 10, 18, 27
Resources and reading
- She can play, opens in a new tab, Jeremy Story Carter, ABC, (10 May 2024). In the shadow of Uluru, an unprecedented football carnival was quietly held for young First Nations women from remote communities. More than sport was at play.
- ‘Someone else like me’: Athlete and coach Jacara Egan is decolonising space for Aboriginal women in sport, opens in a new tab, Brianna Boecker, Women's Agenda, (21 February 2024). While in university, Jacara Egan was dominating as a softball player. A Muthi Muthi/ Gunditjmara woman, she represented South Australia in both the U16 and U19 teams as well as won a U19 National Championship. It was around this time that Egan recalls a distinct moment when she became especially aware of her status as “the only Aboriginal woman” on her sports team.
- You can’t be what you can’t see: the benefits for and the pressures on First Nations sportswomen, opens in a new tab, Michelle O'Shea, Hazel Maxwell, Robyn Newitt. Sonya Joy Pearce, The Conversation, (11 August 2022). A record number of female Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander athletes represented Australia at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. While embracing their role model status, it is worth considering the weighty expectations and costs that accompany this visibility. On top of the pressures of representing Australia at the elite level, First Nations sportspeople also have to contend with the politicisation that still surrounds their very identity.
- Sisterhood in their stride, opens in a new tab, Teisha Cloos, National Indigenous Times, (22 October 2021). Yok Djakoorliny is a women’s running group that aims to support both Indigenous and non-Indigenous women through fitness. Yok Djakoorliny is a Noongar name for the group, with Yok meaning woman and Djakoorliny meaning running. Ms Curtis also highlighted the importance of having an Aboriginal women leadership because “for a long time, we were the minority” and now we get that control and power to have our own group.
- Sport and sistahood: Garnduwa Aboriginal Corporation empowers women through sport, opens in a new tab, Teisha Cloos, National Indigenous Times, (2 September 2021). Garnduwa Amboorny Wirnan Aboriginal Corporation hosted the Making Her Mark Tjurabalan Women’s Football Carnival in Balgo, Western Australia, which empowers women and girls through football and health education. The event brought women and girls from Balgo, Mulan and Billiluna together to engage in community workshops, football drills, and skills and capacity building workshops. Garnduwa says the aim of the program is to create a safe space to yarn and listen to Aboriginal women in community and understand perceived and real barriers to participating in sport.
- Sport can be an important part of Aboriginal culture for women – but many barriers remain, opens in a new tab, Michelle O'Shea, Hazel Maxwell, Megan Stronach, Sonya Pearce, The Conversation, (23 January 2020). Regular exercise is important for Indigenous women’s health, as it protects against obesity and chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. These conditions are more prevalent among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people than non-Indigenous people. Women’s physical activity benefits whole communities. Active mothers and aunts are important role models for their children and peers; while women’s involvement as sport leaders, coaches and participants can empower Indigenous girls to participate in sports at community to elite levels. In 2012, only 23.3% of Indigenous women played sport, walked for fitness or leisure, or were physically active in the previous 12 months. Key barriers identified included: Racism or vilification based on skin colour; for women living in remote Indigenous communities, transport costs and logistics significantly impacted their participation in organised sport. The costs of registering for a sporting team, for example, and having to purchase a team uniform meant they were unable to compete. Ongoing effects of colonisation have resulted in some women rejecting calls for them to become involved in “westernised” sport, instead preferring activities that are more culturally acceptable, such as music and crafts. Our research also found that some Aboriginal people viewed time spent participating in sport and physical activity as “selfish” because it took them away from their family care commitments and responsibilities. Facilitators included: fun runs, carnivals and community competitions. Indigenous-women-only classes and activities offered by local Indigenous organisations. Programs and interventions foisted on Indigenous women are unlikely to benefit them as individuals or their communities. Instead, healthy and active sisters and aunties are powerful role models.
- Women in remote Aboriginal region striving to be AFL stars as footy brings community together, opens in a new tab. Emily Jane Smith, ABC Kimberley, (14 September 2017). The West Kimberley Football League is a 25-year-old institution. Until this year, women never had their own competition. Traditionally, their place has been on the sidelines, supporting their brothers, fathers, and partners. But that is all changing. Since the rise of the Australian Football League Women's, young players are dreaming of becoming national football stars.
- Black Diamonds Report, opens in a new tab, Glass Jar, (April 2022). The first of its kind, the Black Diamonds Project reviews the netball service delivery to ensure that the policies and systems of netball in Western Australia are transformed to better facilitate the engagement and retention of Aboriginal people to the sport of netball. The dominant method of data collection was Yarning Circles, a uniquely Aboriginal methodology, with four stakeholder groups, across two phases. Top motivators: My friends, team, or club support and motivate me; Coaches support and motivate me; I like competing, I am talented; Netball is fun, I feel good when I play, I love the game. Top barriers: Discrimination and racism; Lack of support and understanding; Cliques, purple circles and politics; Communication. Potential solutions for various categories were identified and ranked.
- ‘You can’t be what you can’t see’: Indigenous Australian sportswomen as powerful role models, opens in a new tab, Megan Stronach, Michelle O’Shea, Hazel Maxwell, Sport in Society, Volume 26(6), pp.970-984, (2023). It is generally agreed that sporting role models (SRM) can inspire behaviour and attitude. This paper explores the influence of three contemporary Indigenous Australian sportswomen, and in doing so, their role as SRMs for women and girls. By applying and extending Marianne Meier’s (2015) theoretical lens, the actions, voices and influences of the women are considered. Meier recognizes and describes nine functions of SRMs. The voices of the Indigenous female athletes are portrayed through a media analysis including the athletes’ own social media commentary alongside mainstream media over a four-year period from 2017 to 2021. Examining the Indigenous sportswomen’s SRM status enables a layered and deeper understanding of the unique platform provided by sport, which can serve to strengthen their voices and influence. Indigenous Australian sportswomen are constructed in complex and sometimes contradictory ways, at times portrayed as advocates, deviants, sporting ambassadors, and political activists.
- Exploring the voices of health promotion stakeholders concerning the implementation of physical activity programs for the social and emotional wellbeing of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls, opens in a new tab, Madeleine English, Lee Wallace, Cristina Caperchione, et al., Sport in Society, (1 September 2022). Physical activity and sport programs have been promoted as a strength-based way to enhance social and emotional wellbeing in young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. However, there is limited evidence that describes how these programs may be tailored for girls. A need for culturally safe, youth-friendly services was emphasized, where physical activity and sport may play an influential role. Program development recommendations included focussing upon health literacy, utilizing co-design and creating culturally secure, fun environments.
- Barriers and facilitators of sport and physical activity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and adolescents: a mixed studies systematic review, opens in a new tab, Tamara May, Amanda Dudley, James Charles, et al., BMC Public Health, Volume 20, Article no.601, (2020). This study was focused on a comprehensive identification of barriers and facilitators at each level of the social-ecological model. From this process, gender and geographic location emerged as areas in which individual engagement with PA and sport was highly influenced by environmental, community, and policy factors. At the individual level, the most commonly reported barriers related to shyness/ embarrassment, self-perception of not being good enough as well as lack of motivation and time. Barriers to participation in PA identified in relation to girls and young women show how the complex interactions of interpersonal and cultural factors, associated with gender can be strongly determining the personal behaviour of individuals. At the interpersonal level having family and friends who were active was one of the most commonly reported facilitators; and if they were inactive this was a barrier. This highlights the importance of participation in sport/PA for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults, in that they act as role models for children. For some young people their perceived lack of ability or the experience of losing in a sporting competition were deterrents to participation in and enjoyment of PA and sport. For the five studies conducted in regional and remote areas, barriers to participation in PA were particularly evident at community and environmental levels. These included lack of access to sporting facilities, organised PA and sport programs and transport to and from venues. Living in a ‘hot and sweaty’ climate and restrictions to travel in the wet season were also deterrents to participation in PA for young people from some communities in the Torres Strait Islands and the Cape York Peninsula. However, in the regional city of Geraldton (WA) the opportunity to engage in PA in natural environments such as parks, beaches and bush tracks was an important facilitator. Taken together, programs which offer sporting participation options for all family members (children, adolescents and adults), which appeal to males and females, are accessible through existing transport and related infrastructure, and are committed to communities through formal partnerships are needed. There are unique barriers in remote areas including, lack of programs in the local language, the transient nature of teachers, climate factors and a lack of (ongoing) sporting programs which will need targeted approaches to overcome. Overall, the health benefits of sport as well as its ability to provide future opportunities for young people are also a key facilitator. Public health campaigns broadening these messages to cover both physical and mental health could increase participation in sport and thus derive improved health outcomes.
- 'Developing sport for indigenous women and girls', Megan Stronach and Hazel Maxwell, Chapter 9 in Developing Sport for Women and Girls, opens in a new tab, Routledge, (2020). This chapter explores the distinctive experience that Indigenous women in Australia and Canada have with sport. It presents an exploration of the barriers and obstacles facing Indigenous women and girls when they wish to participate in sport, as well as a discussion of motivations of these women for participation in sporting activities. Some strategies currently employed by government, not for profit, health and sporting organisations to overcome negative or exclusionary issues that Indigenous women may otherwise experience are detailed. The overarching position adopted by the authors throughout is that Indigenous women deserve support to be able to change their current situations as they see fit, thereby taking control of their own health and wellbeing through sport and physical activity.
- Indigenous Australian women promoting health through sport, opens in a new tab, Megan Stronach, Hazel Maxwell, Sonya Pearce, Sport Management Review, Volume 22(1), pp.5-20, (2019). Drawing from an agency/empowerment theoretical framework, the authors posit that, given support and opportunities, Indigenous women can become empowered to improve their mental and physical health through participation in sport. Sport managers can facilitate Indigenous women's agency in the effects of colonisation, which continues to be the basis of health issues for this cohort. Listening to Indigenous women and facilitating opportunities for them to take control of their own participation can help facilitate this process. Indigenous-women's only opportunities, partnerships with health agencies and sports organisations, culturally safe spaces and Indigenous women acting as role models are some factors that may augment Indigenous women's agency, and thus empowerment. Government, sports, community organisations and health agencies which provide these conditions in their program design can help to overcome entrenched social, historical and health inequalities that Indigenous women may experience.
- ‘It’s more than just performing well in your sport. It’s also about being healthy physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually’: Indigenous women athletes’ meanings and experiences of flourishing in sport, opens in a new tab, Leah Ferguson, Gillian Epp, Kellie Wuttunee, et al., Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, Volume 11(1), pp.1-19, (2019). The purpose of this study was to explore the phenomenon of flourishing in sport for Indigenous women athletes. Two Indigenous community sport advisors were instrumentally involved throughout the study. Sixteen Indigenous women athletes (M age = 21.5 years; 10 First Nations, 6 Métis) from urban, rural and remote communities in a mid-Western Canadian province participated in sharing circles and symbol-based reflection to share their meanings and experiences of flourishing in sport. A four-step phenomenological structural analysis was used to analyse transcribed data. Four essential components and one facilitating component emerged as the general structure of flourishing in sport: (1) Multidimensional Community Support (having support from and for one’s family, home and sporting community); (2) Personal Accomplishments (setting and attaining individually tailored goals); (3) Persistent Growth (constant self-betterment); (4) Wholistic Athletic Excellence (excelling as a whole; physically, intellectually, spiritually and emotionally); and, (5) Humble Recognition (being acknowledged; a facilitating component). Nurturing Indigenous women athletes’ flourishing in sport requires athlete-specific attention and collaborative community engagement.
- Indigenous Australians Perceptions’ of Physical Activity: A Qualitative Systematic Review, opens in a new tab, Emma Dahlberg, Sandra Hamilton, Fatuma Hamid, et al., International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Volume 15(7), (2018). Four major themes emerged: family and community, culture and environment, sport, and gender differences. Men highlighted sport and going on walkabout as preferred types of physical activity while women preferred family-focused activities and activities and support for women's sport. Several studies found exercise was supported when in the context of family and community but was considered shameful when done only for oneself. Sport was regarded as playing an influential role in bringing communities together. Group, community, or family activities were desired forms of physical activity with the environment they are conducted in of high importance.
- Physical activity among indigenous Australian children and youth in remote and non-remote areas, opens in a new tab, John Robert Evans, Rachel Wilson, Clare Coleman, Wing Young Nicola Man, et al., Social Science and Medicine, Volume 206, pp.93-99, (2018). This study examined levels of PA in the Australian Bureau of Statistics Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey 2012-13. It also examined the relationship between PA and participation in education and self-reported health among 15–17-year-olds. Overall, participation rates appear to be high, with 64–84% of youth reporting at least 60 min of PA on the previous day. A gender gap was evident, with lower levels of activity among girls. PA decreased with age, particularly at or around the age of puberty. There were no significant associations between PA and either self-reported health or engagement in study. There was a relationship between high PA and low area-level socio-economic status in remote areas, but no association in non-remote areas.
- Correlates of physical activity among Australian Indigenous and non‐Indigenous adolescents, opens in a new tab, Rona Macniven, Shane Hearn, Anne Grunseit, et al., Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, Volume 41(2), pp.187-192, (2017). Physical activity levels in Indigenous and non‐Indigenous adolescents in the out‐of‐school setting were similarly low in this large disadvantaged adolescent sample. Indigenous girls, those from fragmented families, or those feeling disengaged from their community had particularly low activity levels. Consistent with previous research, male gender and sports team membership were associated with higher levels of physical activity in this sample, as well as maternal employment and community involvement which are less well established correlates. However, it is evident that the relative importance of some factors and their association with physical activity may differ between Indigenous (gender, maternal employment, confidence) and non‐Indigenous (sports team membership, community involvement) adolescents. Importantly, our data found a stronger gender difference in the Indigenous sample compared to the non‐Indigenous participants. This may be due in part to cultural factors relating to gender in Indigenous communities, which may require culture‐specific solutions such as initiatives targeted to Indigenous girls. We found sports team membership was associated with higher levels of physical activity in both the total and the stratified non‐Indigenous sample, but not among the Indigenous respondents. The lack of association found in this Indigenous sample may reflect cultural preferences towards unstructured physical activity such as Caring for Country programs. Higher levels of feeling confident were found to be associated with higher physical activity among the Indigenous participants only.
- The facilitators and barriers of physical activity among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander regional sport participants, opens in a new tab, Claudie Péloquin, Thomas Doering, Stephanie Alley, et al., Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, Volume 41(5), pp.474-479, (2017). Participants were 12 Indigenous Australian adults, and 12 non‐Indigenous Australian adults matched on age, sex, and basketball division. Most participants reported engaging in regular exercise; however, the Indigenous group reported more barriers to PA. These factors included cost, time management and environmental constraints. The physical facilitators identified by our Indigenous sample included social support, intrinsic motivation and role modelling. This study is the first to compare the perspective of Indigenous Australians to a matched group of non‐Indigenous Australians and provides useful knowledge to develop public health programs based on culturally sensitive data.
- Indigenous Australian women and sport: findings and recommendations from a parliamentary inquiry, opens in a new tab, Hazel Maxwell, Megan Stronach, Daryl Adair, et al., Sport in Society, Volume 20(11), pp.1500-1529, (2017). Researchers have consistently pointed to positive links between sport, physical activity, health and wellbeing amongst marginalized population groups. This paper concentrates on a group about which little is presently known in terms of these links – Indigenous women in Australia. The catalyst for this focus is twofold: demographic data that, while sparse, suggests that this group has very low levels of participation in sport and associated physical activity; and second, a recent parliamentary inquiry into Indigenous sport in which the participation of women featured in several submissions. Both data sets confirm that Indigenous women are significantly underrepresented in the Australian sporting landscape. There is no systematic knowledge about why this is so. The present study contributes to that small body of literature by considering (a) evidence about participation rates of Indigenous women in sport; and (b) the aspirations of sport organizations to attract Indigenous women into their programs.
- Sistas’ and Aunties: sport, physical activity, and Indigenous Australian women, opens in a new tab. Stronach, Megan, Maxwell, Hazel, Taylor, Tracy, Annals of Leisure Research, Volume 19(1), pp.7-26, (2016). Indigenous women have alarmingly low rates of participation in organized sport and physical activity (PA) in contemporary Australian society. To gain a better contextual and cultural understanding of the issues involved, we discussed the life experiences and the place of sport and PA with 22 Indigenous women. A complex amalgamation of cultural beliefs and traditions, history, gendered factors, and geography are presented in the women's stories. Sport and PA were highly regarded, providing the women with opportunities to maintain strong communities, preserve culture, and develop distinct identities as ‘enablers’. The women called for culturally safe spaces in which to engage in PA and noted the need for Indigenous females to act as role models.
- Factors influencing attendance in a structured physical activity program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in an urban setting: a mixed methods process evaluation, opens in a new tab, Karla J Canuto, Belinda Spagnoletti, Robyn McDermott, et al., International Journal for Equity in Health, Volume 12, Article 11, (2013). The aim of this study was to identify participants’ perceived barriers and enablers to attend group exercise classes as part of a 12-week fitness program. Analyses of the post-program interviews revealed that participants enrolled in the program primarily for the perceived health benefits and all (with one exception) found the program met their needs and expectations. The atmosphere of classes was positive and comfortable and they reported developing good relationships with their fellow participants and program staff. Low attendees described more barriers to attendance, such as illness and competing work and family obligations, and were more likely to report logistical issues, such as inconvenient venue or class times.
- Winyarr Ganbina - Women Arise, opens in a new tab, Victoria University, Outback Academy Australia, Paralympics Australia, (2022). For the first time in Australia, Victoria University in partnership with Outback Academy Australia and Paralympics Australia have recorded the experiences of Indigenous women with a disability who play sport. Provides insight and resources for sport organisations to improve access to sport for people with disability, in particular people from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island backgrounds.
- Checklist for an inclusive community sports organisation, opens in a new tab, Outback Academy Australia – Red Dust Heelers, (2022). A range of actions that sport organisations can implement to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for Indigenous people with a disability, as players and leaders in sport.
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