(she's into sports) How Sports Promote Gender-Equity Worldwide

This 41-page study, conducted by Mama Cash, aims to map and analyse the current state of women-sport-and-development initiatives, and use this information to help Mama Cash refine its own grant-making to encourage best practices in using sports as a women's empowerment strategy worldwide. According to the report, after extensive research - which involved a call for input to a wide range of actors and a document review - a wealth and diversity of women-sport-and-development initiatives emerged. The study also reveals some of the challenges and offers the beginnings of a list of "best practices" to overcome these.

According to the authors, sport is a very effective tool for the empowerment of women and girls as it brings them together, strengthens them physically and mentally, and can be successfully used to tackle sensitive and taboo issues, and raise awareness for women's rights.

However, the study revealed a number of challenges facing sports initiatives designed for women:

• Women-sports-and-development initiatives remain marginalised.
• Sports require expertise, infrastructure, and greater capacity than is currently available.
• Safety and security concerns currently hinder girls' participation.
• Societies and cultures present obstacles to women's participation.
• Traditional roles in sports organisations maintain inequalities.
• Organisational structures for women are weak.

The report includes a number of lessons learned to help foster conditions that make sport an effective tool for the empowerment of women and girls:

• Professionalise sports projects: To ensure the sustainability and quality required for women's long-term participation and to meet their specific needs, sports must be professionally organised.
• Employ safety and security measures: Safety and security measures are critical to reduce harassment, abuse, and other dangers - both within and outside the organisation.
• Map the socio-cultural environment: The social and cultural norms in which women sporting participants live greatly determine the level and longevity of their involvement in sports.
• Integrate women's full participation: Project organisations should mainstream women and their needs at all levels.
• Match sports activities to women's empowerment aims: Choose well-suited activities, such as team sports for building cooperation and fitness for self-esteem building.
• Network: To learn best practices and expand activities, practitioners must link up with other organisations, including general sports organisations, groups working in related sectors such as health and education, and the women's movement in general. This networking should occur at the local, regional, national, and international levels.
• Make more data available: Organisations need to document the projects that promote gender equity through sports and make their results, lessons learned, and best practices widely available to others.