The Government of Canada has committed to reaching gender equity in sport (at all levels) by 2035. Right now, we have a long way to go. Over 90% of Canadian sport media coverage is focused solely on men’s sport (Pegoraro and Moore, 2022). Women and girls have lower sport participation rates and higher dropout rates than boys and men, a reality that was further exacerbated by the COVID 19 pandemic. Women are underrepresented in sport administration, coaching, match officiating and other positions of power within the Canadian sport system.
At the same time, Canadian women athletes are performing better than ever, and are also more activist than ever, pushing for gender equity with regard to equal pay and treatment and shedding light on abuse within sport. More women than ever are returning to high performance sport after giving birth. The menstrual cycle and reproductive health are receiving more research attention as a factor in women’s training and performance.
In honour of International Women’s Day, SIRC has gathered our recent blogs focused on women in Canadian sport. They fall generally within the categories of gender equity, athlete wellness, and reproductive health in sport.
Gender equity
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Athlete wellness
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Motherhood and reproductive health in sport
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Check out our Mom’s Got Game resource hub for more stories!
Engaging women and girls in sport
Finally, check out our engaging women and girls in sport webinar series, created in collaboration with Canadian Women & Sport, covering topics including return to play post-pandemic, data collection with an eye towards gender equity, engaging Black community coaches, and supporting mental health in sport.