Stephen Morgan MP has reaffirmed his commitment to closing the sports participation gap between girls and boys in Portsmouth, responding to new research commissioned by Sky highlighting the disparity within his constituency of Portsmouth South.
The research, which was conducted by Public First, found that girls in Portsmouth South participate in 67 minutes less sport per week than boys. Although this is 17 minutes more than the national average and places Portsmouth South in the top 3rd of constituencies for balance, this still reflects an imbalance in participation.
Sky’s Game Changing campaign, which this research forms part of, found that across the UK girls aged 11 to 18 miss out on 280 million hours of sport every year compared with boys.
Sky estimates that closing this existing gap could save the NHS over £70 Million a year and generate £570 Million in annual productivity gains across the UK by empowering girls through sport. In Portsmouth South, Sky estimates that closing the gap could generate over £700,000.
This research suggests that the gap is driven by a combination of safety concerns, social barriers, reliance on organised sport, lower access to facilities, and lack of equal funding.
Mr Morgan’s response to this research builds upon previous action taken to address the barriers still preventing women and girls’ involvement in sport.
Last year, Mr Morgan gave his support towards the Government’s announcement that £100 Million would be invested in upgrading sports facilities across the country, intended to support greater access and participation levels among under-represented people including women and girls, ethnic minority groups and disabled players.
This funding is supporting hundreds of new and improved pitches, changing rooms, goalposts and floodlights to improve access to sport and physical activity for local communities.
Additionally, Mr Morgan has hosted multiple “Leading Women in Sport” events within the city to discuss barriers to opportunity and to agree actions to drive change in our community.
One event was attended by over 50 leading women in sport from Portsmouth including local-born Olympic swimming hero Katy Sexton MBE, alongside representation from Pompey in the Community, University of Portsmouth, and Debbie Laycock who raised a number of issues affecting women as a netball coach in local sports and leisure facilities.
Additionally, actions from the event included bringing together a wider range of sporting and leisure organisations, a task group to lobby for improvements to local leisure facilities and an awareness campaign to encourage take up of local opportunities to get active.
This event can be read about in further detail here.
Stephen Morgan, MP for Portsmouth South, said:
“This Government’s £100 Million investment into grassroots facilities marked major progress towards ensuring that girls have the opportunity and support to be able to enjoy and benefit from sport to the same extent as boys.
“While progress has already been made in recent years, Labour knows that there is still more work to do. Currently, there remains far too many barriers to girls getting involved and progressing in sport and activities.
“That is why I remain committed to taking action to tackle stereotypes, ensure equality of access and make Portsmouth a great place for sport and leisure for all groups.”
Dana Strong, Group CEO, Sky, said:
“Every girl should have the opportunity to experience the confidence, friendships and sense of belonging that sport can bring. Yet too many girls are still missing out, and this research shows the barriers they face are not the same everywhere.
Closing the gap means tackling inequalities in access and investment, starting in publicly funded settings where opportunity should be equal for every girl. Now is the moment to turn evidence into action and deliver lasting change for girls across the country.”
