Equity

People with disability are generally under-represented in sport, including in leadership, coaching, officiating, and governance positions at community, high-performance, or professional organisations. 1, 2, 3, 4
While various reasons are suggested for why, it seems a series of social, cultural, and sometimes procedural barriers remain. 5, 6, 7, 8
Current state - 2018 to 2022
An estimated 2% (77,000) of people with disability aged 18+ participated as sport and recreation administrators or committee members. 4
Approximately 1% (32,000) of people with disability aged 18+ participated as team managers or coordinators. 4
An estimated 4% (137,000) of people with disability aged 18+ were sport and recreation coaches, instructors, trainers, or teachers. 4
Approximately 3% (105,000) of people with disability aged 18+ were officials. 4
Men with disability are more likely to participate in non-playing roles (12%) than women (8%). 4
Approximately 1 in 5 (21%, or 5.5 million) people in Australia have disability. 9
Factors that Impact
 PathwaysDevelopment pathways and frameworks can be applied to athletes, coaches, officials, or administrators.
Media and communicationIndividuals and organisations can improve how we talk about disability and help create a more inclusive sport sector and society.
Research and dataLimited data availability has a significant impact on the quality of research or policy development that can be done.
REFERENCESHow to create a more equitable future for women with a disability in sport, opens in a new tab, Georgia Munro-Cook, Siren Sport/ABC, (26 April 2023).
Annual Disability and Activity Survey 2022-23, opens in a new tab, Activity Alliance (UK), (June 2023).
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AusPlay data portal: Non-playing roles, opens in a new tab, Australian Sports Commission, (accessed 1 May 2024).
An historical analysis of disability sport policy in Aotearoa New Zealand, opens in a new tab, Catriona McBean, Robert C. Townsend, Kirsten Petrie, International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, Volume 14(3), pp.419-434, (March 2022)
An evidence review of the current barriers and facilitators of disabled people’s engagement with gyms, fitness and leisure centres, opens in a new tab, UK active, (2022).
Managing sport volunteers with a disability: Human resource management implications, opens in a new tab, Pam Kappelides, Jennifer Spoor, Sport Management Review, Volume 22(5), pp.694-707, (2019).
Workplace Experiences of Women With Disability in Sport Organizations, opens in a new tab, Clare Hanlon, Tracy Taylor, Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, Volume 4, (January 2022).
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FTEM Framework, Australian Sports Commission, (accessed 8 May 2024).
Design Principles, Australian Sports Commission, (2024)
WiHPC Pipeline Mapping - 2023, Australian Institute of Sport, (2023).
Including Children and Youth with Disabilities in the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines, opens in a new tab, Veronica Allan, York University, SIRC, (3 December 2019).
Talent Development in Paralympic Sport, opens in a new tab, Nima Dehghansai, Ross Pinder, Joe Baker (eds.), Routledge, (2022).
National Paralympic sport policies influencing a country’s Paralympic success, opens in a new tab, Aurelie Pankowiak, Camilla Brockett, Veerle De Bosscher, et al., International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, Volume 15(3), pp.435-455, (2023).
Optimising health equity through para sport, opens in a new tab, Kristina Fagher, Stephanie DeLuca, Wayne Derman, et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, Volume 57(3), pp.131-132, (2023).
Parents in the parasport pathway: Parental experiences of facilitating their child’s engagement in competitive disability sport, opens in a new tab, Janine Coates. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, Volume 35(6), pp.1050-1071, (2023).
Game Changers: A participatory action research project for/with students with disabilities in school sport settings, opens in a new tab, Daniel Robinson, Sebastian Harenberg, William Walters, et al., Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, Volume 5, (April 2023).
Disability inclusion in beach precincts: beach for all abilities – a community development approach through a social relational model of disability lens, opens in a new tab, Simon Darcy, Hazel Maxwell, Melissa Edwards, et al., Sport Management Review, Volume 36(1), pp.1-23, (2023).
Coach and Athlete Perspectives on Talent Transfer in Paralympic Sport, opens in a new tab, Nima Dehghansai, Alia Mazhar, Joseph Baker, Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, Volume 40(2), pp.280-302, (2023).
Spotlight on Disability, opens in a new tab, Sport NZ, (December 2018).
How inclusive are SA sport clubs? A study into the attitudes and behaviours of members from South Australian mainstream sporting clubs, opens in a new tab, Katrina Ranford, Inclusive Sport SA, (June 2019).
Managing parasport: An investigation of sport policy factors and stakeholders influencing para-athletes’ career pathways, opens in a new tab, Jacqueline Martins Patatas, Veerle De Bosscher, Inge Derom, et.al., Sport Management Review, Volume 23(5), pp.937-951, (January 2020).
Developing participation opportunities for young people with disabilities? Policy enactment and social inclusion in Australian junior sport, opens in a new tab, Ruth Jeanes, Ramón Spaaij, Jonathan Magee, et al., in The Potential of Community Sport for Social Inclusion: Exploring Cases Across the Globe, Hebe Schaillée, Reinhard Haudenhuyse, Lieve Bradt (eds.), Routledge, (2022).
Participation-performance tension and gender affect recreational sports clubs’ engagement with children and young people with diverse backgrounds and abilities, opens in a new tab, Spaaij R, Lusher D, Jeanes R, et.al., PLoS ONE, 14(4): e0214537, (2019).
Episode 63: Reverse integration – doing disability sport differently, opens in a new tab, Lesley Evans Ogden, Mosaic/The Inclusion Club, (accessed 27 February 2024).
The Inclusion Spectrum, planning sport activities for everyone, opens in a new tab, Michael Woods, Inclusive Sport Design, (July 2017).
Sport Participation for People with Disabilities: Exploring the Potential of Reverse Integration and Inclusion through Wheelchair Basketball, opens in a new tab, Rebecca Ramsden, Rick Hayman, Paul Potrac, et al., International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Volume 20(3), 2491, (January 2023).
Suncoast Spinners Reverse Inclusion, opens in a new tab, Suncoast Spinners, YouTube, (13 November 2018).
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The Future of Para Report Cards on Physical Activity of Children and Adolescents With Disabilities—A Global Call for Engagement, Data, and Advocacy, opens in a new tab, Mark S. Tremblay, et al. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, Volume 41(1), pp.1-8, (2024).
A global perspective on disparity of gender and disability for deaf female athletes, opens in a new tab, Becky Clark, Johanna Mesch, Sport in Society, Volume 21(1), pp.64-75, (2018).
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, opens in a new tab, United Nations, (December 2006).
Global Matrix of Para Report Cards on Physical Activity of Children and Adolescents With Disabilities, opens in a new tab, Kwok Ng, Cindy Sit, Kelly Arbour-Nicitopoulos, et al., Adapted Physical Ability Quarterly, Volume 40(3), pp.409-430, (2023).
Advancing sport opportunities for people with disabilities: from grassroots to elite, opens in a new tab, David Legg, Mary Dubon, Nick Webborn, et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, Volume 56(22), pp.1266-1267 (2022).
PWDA Language Guide: A guide to language about disability, opens in a new tab, People with Disability Australia, (August 2021).
Disability Models: Explaining and Understanding Disability Sport in Different Ways, opens in a new tab, Brett Smith, Andrea Bundon, in ’The Palgrave Handbook of Paralympic Studies’, Ian Brittain, Aaron Beacom (eds), Springer, pp.15-34, (2018).
Elite athletes or superstars? Media representation of para-athletes at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, opens in a new tab, McPherson G, O’Donnell H, McGillivray D, et al., Disability and Society , Volume 31(5), pp.659-675, (2016).
Paralympic Legacy: Exploring the Impact of the Games on the Perceptions of Young People With Disabilities, opens in a new tab, Janine Coates, Philip Vickerman, Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, Volume 33(4(, pp.338-357, (2016).
Public attitudes toward people with intellectual disabilities after viewing Olympic or Paralympic performance, opens in a new tab, Ferrara K, Burns J, Mills, H, Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, Volume 32(1), pp.19-33, (2015).
Paralympic sport key to driving NZ’s inclusion of disabled people, opens in a new tab, Paralympics New Zealand (December 2023).
Report Finds Australian Paralympic Team Among Nation’s Most Popular, opens in a new tab, David Sygall, Paralympics Australia, (25 November 2021).
2012 Paralympic Games - Are they Superhuman?The Inclusion Club, Episode 31, (2012).
Identity in elite level disability sport: a systematic review and meta-study of qualitative research, opens in a new tab, William Crossen, Nick Wadsworth, Noora Ronkainen, et al., International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, (4 July 2023).
Empower, inspire, achieve: (dis)empowerment and the Paralympic Games, opens in a new tab, David Purdue, P. David Howe, Disability and Society, (December 2012).
Cyborg and Supercrip: The Paralympics Technology and the (Dis)empowerment of Disabled Athletes, opens in a new tab, Howe, D.P, Sociology, Volume 45(5), pp.868-882, (2011).
The fiddle of using the Paralympic Games as a vehicle for expanding [dis]ability sport participation, opens in a new tab, P. David Howe, Carla Filomena Silva, Sport in Society, Volume 21(1), pp.125-136, (2018).
About inclusive participation in sport: cultural desirability and technical obstacles, opens in a new tab, Alexy Valet, Sport in Society, Volume 21(1), pp.137-151, (2018).
See more on this topic:Overview
Benefits of Sport
Factors influencing participation
Equity
Policies, programs, and supporting structures
Awards and recognition
Disability sport in Australia timeline
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