Increasing female participation, inclusion and safety Achknowledge Luke Ablett & Darebin/Moreland City Council previous work & VicHealth. Local clubs we worked with. Our sport and rec team, kate bolton – feminist researcher, sport and inclusion group in yarra ranges esp Jacinda and others we worked with

What is She’s Game? Funded through Medicare Local between February and October, 2015 Our approach focused on: The benefits of female participation The barriers to increased female participation The actions clubs can take to overcome these barriers Between .6 and .8 EFT Band 6 We have applied for further funding internally… Key enabler for success has been the flexibility in the project design and delivery to respond to the needs of individual clubs and build on our learnings along the way See slide next page for graph

83% of users of Councils pavilions (in sports clubs etc) are male Just in terms of community reach and best value for investment, this is a lot of community members missing out, let alone the gender implications of this exclusion.. It is argued that cultural and gendered patterns of sport participation reflect underlying inequalities in access to community opportunities and infrastructure (council business)

Face to face Partnering with Leisure Networks from Geelong Clubs participated in three separate seminars Gender Equity in Sport (benefits, barriers and actions) Governance Long term/strategic planning (All three seminars focus female participation, inclusion and safety) Coffee and chat time Flyers for more information about leisure networks here We built into the project loads of contact time with Luke and Leisure networks, for coffee and chats with the club and hands on support from the beginning of an idea to its implementation (in some cases)

Club committee having a conversation at one of the seminars Run at the club at the time that suits them

Feedback “We believe that the training was the most significant and important training our club has undertaken in many years” – Shaun Hudson, West Footscray Football Club 100% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed with the following statements: I believe that increasing the number of women in our clubs will make our club stronger This session has helped me better understand the barriers to women participating in sport This session was delivered in a manner that was easy to understand and follow I would recommend this session to other clubs This session is a good starting point for clubs wanting to increase female participation benefits Improved rapport between council and clubs Recruitment of more female committee members Improved meeting procedures (incl reducing meeting from 4 hours to 2) Inaugural girls team established Website and posters changed to be more gender inclusive Clubs using the She’s Game video

RESEARCH 273 female identified people from the local area completed a survey exploring motivations for sport, the barriers they face, and the actions that can overcome these barriers. We found: 92.6% of women indicated that they would like to be more active Safety, Affordability, Timing, Family and caring obligations, Sport vs. Physical activity This has been a key to working with our internal rec team – esp coupled with the data that shows currently only 17% of women are participating Opportunity to increase focus from increasing gender equity in organised sport (sports clubs) to increasing participation in physical activity more broadly For example we are now running the westie women food bike rides and the MAC swim passes program

POLICY UPDATES Working with Council’s Leisure Service team to ensure the prioritisation of female participation Fees and charges policy Allocation policy Capital works agreements Conditions of Use Statement of intent Plaques on all pavilions

SUSTAINABILITY A number of resources were developed to ensure messages extend beyond the life of the project She’s Game Website – www.maribyrnong.vic.gov.au/shesgame Video Small Grants Program Logo Online Education Booklet

Thanks, emma.wilkinson@maribyrnong.vic.gov.au