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Factors Influencing Participation

What motivates individuals to participate in sport and physical activity can change over time and will be influenced by individual, cultural and social factors. 1

Program designers and providers can leverage the influence of people and environments to help motivate girls and women to participate in sport and physical activity programs. 2, 3, 4

Motivators

Top motivations for women to participate in sport and physical activity [aged 15+] 5

  • Physical health or fitness
  • Fun/enjoyment
  • To lose weight/keep weight off/tone
  • Social reasons (including meeting new people/friends)
  • To be outdoors/to enjoy nature
  • Psychology/mental health/therapy
  • Sense of achievement
  • Hobby
  • For training purposes
  • To learn a new skill
C4S-image-girls high five (600x364)

Facilitators and Barriers

  • Facilitators

    Facilitators

    What encourages women aged 15+ to take part in sport.
  • Barriers

    Barriers

    What holds girls and women back from participating in sport.
  • Further Resources and Reading

    Further resources and reading

    Dive deeper into the research on what supports and limits women’s participation in sport.

Factors that Impact

Understanding the potential barriers and facilitators to participation in specific contexts can make a difference in maintaining and growing the number of players, volunteers, and fans who engage and participate regularly in sport. This has flow on effects for the long-term sustainability of individual sports, organisations, and the sport sector more broadly.

There are some factors identified in the literature that are specific to—or have a high impact on—women and girl’s participation.

  • Facilities

    Facilities

    Access to convenient and safe facilities, with suitable amenities is important for attracting and retaining women and girls.
  • Physical literacy

    Physical literacy

    Cultural and social influences can reduce women and girls' opportunities to develop physical literacy.
  • Role models

    Role models

    Role models can encourage women and girls to play sport and become more physically active.
  • Socio-cultural

    Socio-cultural

    A complex interaction of social and cultural factors can impact the decision to participate in sport.
  • Uniforms

    Uniforms

    The type of uniforms available are critical in making women and girls feel confident to be active and participate in sport.

Health and Physiology

Female athletes, and women in general, have specific health considerations.74

The menstrual cycle, hormonal contraception, pregnancy (pre-, during and post-partum), breast pain/health, and other related medical conditions can impact on the ability of women to participate fully in sport and physical activity from grassroots to elite performance.74, 75

In October 2019 the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) launched an initiative focussing on improving female athlete specific knowledge and systems of support. The Female Performance and Health Initiative (FPHI) will benefit Australian athletes, coaches, parents, sporting organisations and support staff in the sport sector and will raise awareness and understanding to key female athlete performance and health considerations.75

  • Pregnancy

    Pregnancy

    Sport and physical activity can contribute to healthy pregnancies and the long-term health of mother and child.
  • The menstrual cycle

    The menstrual cycle

    The menstrual cycle must be discussed and understood as a factor in sport research, participation, and performance.
  • Other health considerations

    Other health considerations

    Research and performance initiatives are increasingly focused on meeting the specific needs of female participants.

REFERENCES
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  124. Flexible sport uniform policies keep girls in the game, opens in a new tab Victoria University , (22 March 2022).
  125. Sports uniforms for women - from bikini to burkini, opens in a new tab, Amanda Smith, ABC RN, (20 March 2021).
  126. Sexism and sport: why body-baring team uniforms are bad for girls and women, opens in a new tab, Sarah Zipp, Sasha Sutherland, Lilamani de Soysa, The Conversation, (5 August 2021).
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  128. Matildas unveil first period-conscious kit design for Women’s World Cup, opens in a new tab, Caitlin Cassidy, The Guardian, (4 April 2023).
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