Beyond the Barriers
Why do women and girls really drop out of sport?
Beyond the Barriers is our first research project. We want to explore further into the barriers to participation for women and girls in sport in Australia, and we want to hear from you.
The Catalyst
In 2019, Suncorp’s Youth & Confidence Research revealed that nearly 50% of Australian teenage girls drop out of sport by the age of 17. This isn’t just a loss for players, it’s a loss for the entire sporting ecosystem. Fewer players today mean fewer coaches, referees, managers, and officials tomorrow, impacting sport from grassroots to an elite level.
A recent study by Victoria University explored why women and girls leave sport, identifying these reasons as barriers to participation1:
- COVID-19 disruptions
- Cost
- Loss of interest
- Not having fun
- Unfriendly coaches or officials
While these challenges are well known, we believe there’s more to uncover. We need to understand the deeper issues behind these barriers and, more importantly, how to overcome them.
When women and girls leave sport, especially community and grassroots sport, everyone loses.
Every athlete, coach, referee, and official starts in grassroots sport. It’s the foundation of Australia’s high-performance system. That’s why the near 50% dropout rate is so concerning, especially when we look at the broader gender imbalance in sports leadership:
- Only 9% of Australia’s high-performance coaches are women2.
- Just 1 out of 8 WNBL teams currently have a female head coach for the 2024-25 season.
- Only 5 out of 18 AFLW teams in 2024 Season.
- Just 2 out of 12 A-League Women’s teams have female head coaches for the 2024-25 season.
The high dropout rates, persistent participation barriers, and lack of women in coaching and leadership aren’t isolated issues, but one problem that is plaguing women’s sport in Australia.
We want to tackle this problem, starting in grassroots and community sport.
If you have ever played, coached, managed, or supported sport in any way, then we want to hear from you.
Help us build a future where more women and girls are playing sport by completing the survey below.
Beyond the Barriers – Why do women really drop out of sport?
References
1. FACTORS RELATING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS’ PARTICIPATION (RETENTION AND DROPOUT) IN SPORT. Professor Rochelle Eime, Ms Melanie Charity, Dr Aurelie Pankowiak, Dr Jack Harvey, Professor Hans Westerbeek, 2023. Available at: https://content.vu.edu.au/sites/default/files/documents/2023-03/factors-relating-to-womens-girls-participation-in-sport.pdf
2. ABC News, ‘There’s a push for more female coaches at elite level ahead of the Brisbane Olympic Games,’ 24 July 2024. Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-24/australia-olympics-female-coaches-sport-gender-divide/104125574
