The first thing you should consider is to let them know you are here! It may sound trivial, but your communication is key to getting more women to join your organisation - whether as participants or as volunteers.
In this section, we'll explore the pivotal role of communication in encouraging women to participate in physical activity. Learn how to effectively convey your message and create an environment that welcomes and motivates women to join your organisation.
Our learning objectives will be as follows:
If there is one thing to keep in mind when thinking of our objective, that of addressing the GAP between women and men, it’s probably that you should not just talk about sport - as for many girls and women, the thought of “sport” comes with baggage.
Advertising sport and physical activity to a specific target group requires some dedicated time and attention. What is interesting for the mass may not be relevant for the segment of population you would like to reach.
This is particularly true for women who belong to a specific community (cultural/ethnic/religious/identity/ability), and even more if you look at the women who are living in the specific neighbourhood/areas in which your club/entity works: women are not just one category, so their habits, needs and interests may differ significantly. That is why it is crucial to prepare an “ad hoc” strategy to market your sport program to be able to attract more women to sport.
To help you gain more perspective and understanding of women in sport, we would like to recommend reading a recent survey conducted by ENGSO:
In the following section you will find a few key elements to evaluate your communication and some tips on how to create a successful communication strategy to attract more women to sport and physical activity programmes.
Nowadays, every organisation develops a communication plan to let people know what they do and how to follow their work. However, this plan is sometimes quite random and the style does not reach the target they would like to reach. For this reason, it is important to make a proper “communication check-up” to make sure the work being done is going in the right direction.
Below you can find 10 guiding questions you can follow to change/adjust the content of your communication to your female target group:
Inclusive communication is crucial to involving more women and diversity in your sports program. It goes beyond moral obligation; it’s a strategic advantage. When people read/listen to inclusive communication, they feel that there is space for them and they could try to make a first step.
So how to ensure inclusive communication?
✅ Use Inclusive Language:
*Do:\* Choose language that is neutral, respectful, and free from gender stereotypes.
*Why:\* Inclusive language creates a welcoming environment for everyone, regardless of gender or background.
✅ Represent Diversity:
*Do:\* Include diverse images and visuals that reflect the varied backgrounds and experiences of your audience.
*Why:\* Visual representation fosters a sense of belonging and ensures everyone feels seen and heard.
✅ Accessibility Matters:
*Do:\* Ensure your communication is accessible to individuals with disabilities, both in written and visual content.
*Why:\* Accessibility promotes equal access and engagement for all.
✅ Seek and Act on Feedback:
*Do:\* Regularly seek feedback from your audience and use it to improve and refine your communication strategies. Anonymous surveys allow open feedback. Suggestion boxes let anyone submit ideas comfortably. Take action on input to build trust.
*Why:\* Feedback ensures your communication aligns with the evolving needs and preferences of your audience.
✅ Build Cultural Sensitivity:
*Do:\* Be culturally sensitive in your messaging, respecting diverse perspectives and practices.
Techniques like roleplaying with reversed statuses build understanding and help rephrase your message appropriately. These perspective-taking exercises bring new insights, which provide the mindset shift needed for inclusive communication contents.
*Why:\* Cultural sensitivity builds trust and avoids potential misunderstandings.
✅ Make inclusive communication desirable
*Do:\* Share your strategy with all your staff and volunteers to be consistent - that means training and incentives. Provide regular refresher courses focused on inclusive communication. Recognise that inclusion is key to your organisation and call out exclusionary behaviour respectfully. Build metrics on inclusive communication into performance systems. Highlight inclusion among coaches, personal trainers, workers in your club branding to attract diversity.
*Why:\*Employees and members prioritise what is valued and feels more comfortable when trained. Continual skills practice is essential for sustainable change..
⛔ Stereotypical Imagery
*Don't:\* Use images that perpetuate stereotypes or reinforce gender norms.
*Why:\* Stereotypical imagery can alienate and discourage individuals from diverse backgrounds.
⛔ Exclusionary Language:
*Don't:\* Use language that excludes or marginalises certain groups, consciously or unconsciously.
*Why:\* Exclusive language can create barriers and diminish the inclusivity of your message.
⛔ Ignoring Accessibility:
*Don't:\* Overlook accessibility considerations in your communication, excluding individuals with disabilities.
*Why:\* Ignoring accessibility limits your audience and goes against the principles of inclusivity.
⛔ Assuming Homogeneity:
*Don't:\* Assume a homogeneous audience; acknowledge and appreciate diversity instead.
Remember, the key to inclusive communication is thoughtful consideration of the diverse perspectives and experiences within your audience. These guidelines aim to create communication that is respectful, welcoming, and accessible to all.
Following you can see four online campaigns focusing on including more women in sport.
The intention is to inspire your work and help you build some of the content for your campaign to attract more women.
What matters most is probably that over a third of women say their friends are their most important exercise influencers, noting that they’re more motivated to exercise by women like themselves rather than celebrities (Source: Closing the Gender Exercise Gap - Study Report 2023 - by ASICS)!
Should you want to go further and learn more about inclusive communication and campaigns that attract more women into sports participation, here is a curated list of resources:
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