2015, Vol. 2, Issue 1, Part B

The literature shows that the participation of women and girls in sport and active recreation fluctuates throughout the lifecycle. At different stages of life, many events and factors appear to negatively influence women’s and girls’ participation. The literature had also shown that there are many different barriers of women’s participation, and the barriers to girls’ and adolescents’ participation. These barriers are identified through a review of literature. 

The different barriers to women’s and girls’ participation in sport and active recreation are as follows: 1)Barriers of girls’ participation: Competing priorities, Girls perceive that physical education is not an important subject, Physical education classes do not cater well for girls, Friends who do not participate, Perceptions about being feminine, Lack of parental Support, Body Image and sports uniforms, Body Image and sports uniforms, Mixed-gender participation, Lack of motivation, Negative experiences, Cultural issues.2) Barriers of Women’s participation: Competing priorities and lack of time, Lack of appropriate and affordable childcare, Lack of appropriate and affordable childcare, Poor access to or availability of venues and places to participate and a lack of appropriate facilities for women, Poor access to programs, Feeling unsafe, Cultural factors and social norms, Personal perceptions and motivation, Injury and health problems, Cultural factors and social norms. 

Researches had shown that there are different type of barriers to participation experienced by women and girls. Research is helpful to find that there is a need of specific programs according to these specific problems to improve participation in sport and active recreation for overcoming these barriers. Despite the plethora of research exploring women’s and girls’ participation in sports there is a need of making policies, implementation of them and evaluating the effectiveness of policies and programs for increasing participation.