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Belonging Starts with Inclusion

Shape it: your role in ensuring no woman is left behind

Two women in athleisure clothing push their children in prams on a path.

This Girl Can has achieved a huge amount since its launch in 2015. We’ve celebrated women sweating, jiggling, giving it a go and having fun getting active – and we couldn’t have done it without campaign supporters like you.  

But we’re not there yet. 

There are still more active men than active women in England today.  

We want to create a society where ALL women feel they belong in the world of physical activity. Where every woman, regardless of her background, age, shape, size or ability, feels being active is ‘for women like me’.  

Together we can do this, narrowing the gender gap in physical activity by inspiring, motivating and supporting all women to become more active in ways that work for them. 

What women have told us

Our latest research tells us that, despite knowing the benefits of being active, many women feel excluded from physical activity, by themselves, by society and sometimes by our sector.  

Only one in 10 women on lower incomes feel they completely belong in the world of physical activity.

One in six women felt so unwelcome in a physical activity setting that they’ve never returned.

Only 9% of our women are active in a typical week.

No woman left behind

This Girl Can is, and always will be, a campaign for all women. But we know the groups who face the greatest barriers to exercise have the most to gain – and they will be our main target audiences for this phase. We call them our women to ensure they stay at the centre of our work.  

They are all women on lower incomes, and who are also:

  • From South Asian Muslim communities   
  • From black communities
  • Aged 55 years or over    
  • Pregnant and/or have a child under one year old. 

Ensuring all women feel able and welcome to get active isn’t just the right thing to do. It's also a big opportunity for the sports and physical activity sector. There are 3.6 million of our women – that’s a lot of untapped potential.

This does not mean you can only use This Girl Can if you are directly supporting these audiences. You know the women you are trying to reach best and the insights and resources we provide can be used to support anyone who needs advice, guidance and motivation to get active.  

Together we can make sport, physical activity and movement feel appealing, relevant and possible for all women. And we have the insight and resources to help you do this.

Find out more