Hansard

I welcome today's debate on women and girls in sport. We have already heard about women and girls who are achieving fantastic results in elite sports. We should recognise the commitment, hard work, talent and dedication that they have given to their chosen sport and celebrate their achievements. Labour’s amendment congratulates the Scottish women’s football team and recognises the Scottish Government’s announcement of financial support. Women who participate at a high level often still have to earn a living and cannot dedicate themselves to the sport, so I welcome the funding that will enable the team to concentrate on the tournament.

Recognition and sponsorship can be difficult for women to receive, and we can see gender disparity across elite sports where women still receive less financial reward and have lower profiles. Although we have global woman sport stars, they are often at the forefront of fighting for greater recognition, respect and parity in their sports. We should consider ways of achieving a sustainable funding base for all women’s competitive sport.

I want to focus on other aspects of the debate. The Scottish health survey, which was published last week, confirmed some attitudes and behaviours around sport and gender. As the minister recognised, male participation in recreational sport is higher on average than women’s. Women are less likely than men to meet the guidelines for moderate or vigorous physical activity, with the greatest gap being in the young adult age group. The most dramatic statistic is probably that participation in sport among high school-age girls declines by 24 percentage points compared with 1 percentage point for boys.

The figures are compounded by deprivation, with higher levels of non-participation in areas of high deprivation. Although we rightly celebrate high-level achievement, a recent BBC documentary claimed that almost nine in 10 elite athletes come from a more privileged background. Sport should be the great equaliser, but the figures suggest that, for too many people, opportunities are limited, and personal as well as national potential is not being realised.

I welcome the work that has been undertaken to consider the barriers to women and girls’ participation in sport. The modest but welcome investment in the sporting equity fund has provided an impetus to work in this area. In Fife, Fighting Chance Scotland received funding for a schools judo programme and Fife Council received an award to support inactive girls to take up cycling. I understand that the funding is only for a year and the minister has confirmed that additional funding will be available to support grass-roots sport. Will that additional funding be available to groups that already receive funding or is it only for new applications?

I also welcome the work of the women and girls in sport board. Its focus on four key areas looks to increase engagement and should lead it to consider how deprivation depresses opportunity. The benefits of an active lifestyle for everyone are evident, and they are not just physical benefits; it also benefits mental wellbeing.

A lot of good work is being done to challenge the way we think about sport and women and girls’ participation in it. Some members have spoken about the importance of role models and leadership opportunities. I am interested in where that intersects with celebrity culture and the images of perfection that girls are presented with.

The this girl can campaign was about promoting diversity and confidence, and taking on myths about femininity and how it is expressed. Girlguiding has also done a lot of research that highlights that girls can be reluctant to take part in sport because it is not regarded as feminine. Part of that is about activity and not labelling activity as sporty or otherwise. For some, “sporty” can be a label that enforces a binary approach—either someone is good at sport and wins things, or they are not, so they start to avoid it.

At primary school, it is perhaps easier to be more inclusive. As headteacher of St Ninian’s primary school in Stirling in my region, Elaine Wyllie introduced the daily mile, which is a great initiative that embeds positive behaviour and attitudes to activity, and introduces concepts of keeping active, socialising, and building activity into our daily routine. All those are easy lessons that I hope will stay with children throughout their lives.

The significant reduction in participation occurs at high school. There is still a gender gap at a younger age, but it becomes more pronounced at high school. Last year, the Health and Sport Committee’s report “Sport for Everyone” found that having a negative experience of sport at high school can practically put girls off sport for life. There are complicated factors for that. Being more self-conscious about body image can be a factor, and some of our schools’ changing facilities do not lend themselves to privacy. The range of sport that is on offer for girls does not suit everyone, so lack of choice is a factor in people not participating. Girls and boys taking part in sports together can sometimes encourage judgments on ability and lead to a lack of confidence among girls. The competitive nature of school sports does not suit everyone, either. Some of those factors apply equally to boys, but there is not the same drop-off in their activity.

That said, school activity is important in closing the participation gap. Although I am aware that sports clubs endeavour to keep their fees minimal, it can be a challenge for families on low incomes to afford them. The active schools network, working with sportscotland, is an important vehicle for bridging the gap between club activity and schools, and it should be supported to provide more free and affordable sports in schools.

A related issue is the financial pressures that face our schools. In Fife, I am aware of reports of the reduction in the number of teacher posts, and I have heard concerns about the continuing viability of some girls sport teams representing their schools and taking part in competitions, because of a lack of teachers who can provide the coaching. That must be avoided and, if budget cuts are creating that situation, the cuts need to be reversed. Although such cuts might look like easy cuts that will not impact on core teaching, they are letting down a generation of girls who have shown a commitment to their sport and deserve our support.