So where do we start? With women of course.
Through countless conversations, zoom calls and heart to hearts with women and girls from across the country, we heard a myriad of concerns, ideas and solutions.
Stories of a football club who made it their mission to create space for the minority to be the majority.
A gym who rebuilt a woman’s confidence by supporting her journey back into exercise.
A group who uses fencing as a platform to challenge gender, racial and religious preconceptions.
From these conversations, we’ve identified four action areas where people like you – the people who make sport and physical activity happen – can help shrink that enjoyment gap once and for all.
Having a support network or feeling part of a bigger community is integral to making activity enjoyable whether you’re exercising alone or with others. Even if it’s a catch up with friends, with a workout on the side.
Learn moreCreating spaces where women feel emotionally and physically safe, free from harassment and intimidation. Because when they’re free from worry, they’re free to enjoy activity.
Learn moreCreating an environment where members feel confident and comfortable in their own skin regardless of shape, size or ability. Boosting enjoyment by empowering them to show up unapologetically as themselves and find their tribe.
Learn moreDesigning your offering to cater to your communities' specific needs. Considering their cultural and practical requirements, as well as ensuring timings are considerate of their competing priorities. You can power up enjoyment by making it feel possible for them.
Learn more
What does 'social' mean for women?
Having a support network or feeling part of a bigger community is integral to making activity enjoyable whether you’re exercising alone or with others.
Even if it’s a catch up with friends, with a workout on the side.
Doing 'social' well
Muslim Girls Fence is a project collaboration between Maslaha and British Fencing which aims to facilitate spaces at a grassroots level for Muslim girls and women to fence.
It focuses on the social aspect of activity by allowing students to come and fence or just sit back and catch up with each other, talk about their days or what they may be feeling or going through.
The video shows footage of a group of women in taking part in a Muslim Girl’s Fence class. The video has a voice over with no music on the background and then switches to upbeat music.
We open on a shot of a woman, Binni, standing alone in a sports hall. She is dressed in her fencing gear with her mask on. The camera closes in on her as she speaks through a voiceover.
Voiceover: I didn’t fit into the mainstream industries where I didn’t look like everybody else, because of the way I dressed,
Upbeat music, GIRLS, is introduced, Binni takes off her fencing mask.
Voiceover: Because of what I believed in. I want to give something to them that’s not the norm.
The camera whips around to a room full of fencers in masks and full suits fencing with their swords facing each other. Titles appear on screen:
This Girl Can x Muslim Girls Fence
The shot shows Binni as she demonstrates how to lunge with the sword
Voiceover: Communities coming together and finding that they have so much in common.
The class attendees all stand in a line and lunge with their swords. The camera shows close ups of different women’s faces.
Voiceover: This is not a Muslim girls’ project anymore. This is just a women’s fencing project.
A woman helps another suit up as their laugh together before we see them both in action. They then sit socialising as they take a break.
Voiceover: When you have like those friends that you don’t see for ages but when you meet up again, it’s nice to catch up with them, it’s like nothing has changed.
The Camera cuts to a mother and daughter laughing in class before panning to them, as well as others fencing together.
Voiceover: My mum is, at home, she’s quite serious, but here it’s like she has a chance to be free as well. When we fence against one another, it’s so much fun. She definitely pulls out secret moves, and so do I.
A montage of different women fencing, a woman takes of her helmet as takes a breath of relief.
Voiceover: I’m meeting lots of different women, lots of different ages, lots of different backgrounds, and we’re learning about each other’s cultures and lives.
The setting moves from the sports hall to a café. The women are now dressed in their every-day clothes and are sitting around a table drinking hot drinks and socialising.
Certain communities are hard to reach, have you reached them enough? You have to become part of that community to understand its needs.
The camera zooms out. Titles appear on screen:
This Girl Can With You.
Find out more at ThisGirlCanWithYou.com.
The National lottery logo and Sport England logo appear.
Find out more about Muslim Girls Fence
Why social matters
More ideas and inspiration
Breeze is an initiative from British Cycling that offers fun, free bike rides for women of all abilities.
Her Spirit is an app that connects women together virtually and locally and enables them to take part in virtual and real-world events, weekly challenges and coaching.
Blaze Trails is a walking community made up of parents who support each other to get outdoors and go walking with their babies launched by Katy O’Neill Gutierrez in July 2020.
See more stories
What might doing social well look like?
Social can vary from person to person
Here are a few ideas about what doing it well could look like for you:
Download the essentials
We've created a summary of what we mean by the Four Action Areas, for you to easily download and refer to later.
Want to share your idea?
Click below to get in touch using our form and share how you're making your activities social.
Tell us more
Other ways we can help
Click below to see our resources page, full of guides, insight and toolkits to help you get women moving.
Resources