Sporting gender stereotypes taking hold from a young age, new research reveals

Most Current Youth Sport Trust Girls Active study reveals gendered mindsets are greatest amongst more youthful main students, and less than half of ladies think they have equivalent access to sport at school.

New research study from the Youth Sport Trust has actually discovered youths are progressively most likely to think some sports are for kids, and some are for women.

The most recent Girls Active study, which checks out youths’s experiences and mindsets in the UK towards PE, exercise and sport, discovered the percentage of kids thinking “some sports are for young boys and some sports are for ladies” has actually gradually increased from 35% in 2023/24 to 41% in 2025/26. Amongst ladies, contract has actually likewise increased from 20% to 25%. Arrangement with the declaration is greatest amongst kids aged 7 to 9 years of ages, with practically half of young boys at this age concurring some sports are just for young boys.

The findings highlight how experiences, mindsets and the impact of others form kids’s understandings, thus highlighting the essential function schools can play in challenging these stereotypes. Producing favorable experiences of a vast array of sports from an early age can assist guarantee kids do not feel restricted by gendered expectations.

The research study likewise recommends gender stereotypes are strengthened by women’ experiences of unequal access to sport and exercise at school:

• Just around half of ladies feel they have the very same access to area and devices beyond PE as kids.

• Just around half feel they have the exact same chance as kids to do the sports and activities they wish to beyond PE.

• And less than half of women feel they have the chance to participate in the exact same series of sports and activities as young boys in PE.

In general, majority (56%) of kids think women’ and young boys’ sport are viewed as similarly essential, compared to simply 39% of ladies.

In spite of the success and exposure of elite ladies’s sport recently, this information recommends the effect is not dripping down to youths’s daily experiences and mindsets towards sport. Instead of moving towards a more equivalent view of sport, youths seem relocating the opposite instructions.

Olympic medallist and middle-distance runner, Georgia Hunter Bell stated, “Having noticeable good example to admire is a huge consider motivating girls and revealing them they belong in sport. We likewise require to turn that motivation into favorable experiences of sport at a young age.

“I vividly remember watching Dame Kelly Holmes win double Olympic gold. It made me want to be a runner one day and made that dream realistic. The more exposure women and girls in sport get, alongside the right support in schools, it will reduce the thinking that sport is just for boys – because of course it isn’t.”

Group GB weightlifter, Sarah Davies, included, “My journey has actually taken me from contending in gymnastics to golf to appeal pageants to representing Team GB in weight-lifting, and those experiences have actually revealed me there is no set method to be a female or to be strong or to discover success. When I began weightlifting in 2011, it was still a really male-dominated sport. British weight-lifting looks extremely various now; the ladies’s side of the sport has a much larger and competitive group than the males’s. Seeing ladies being successful in a sport like weight-lifting ought to make a big distinction to whether a girl now believes, ‘that might be me’. We are beginning to see the shift with females’s sport in the media, however it still isn’t enough.

“This is why it is so important we challenge these ideas early. No child should feel a sport is off limits because of their gender. Girls and boys should be able to see themselves in every sport, have the confidence to give it a go and decide for themselves what they enjoy.”

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The research study likewise highlights the broader public opinions affecting women’ experiences of being active, with women reporting sensations of judgement and intimidation from both young boys and ladies.

Amongst ladies who are less active at school since of unfavorable remarks from kids, almost half (47%) stated it was because of remarks based upon gender stereotypes about being a lady. By contrast, amongst women impacted by unfavorable remarks from other ladies, the bulk (59%) stated these remarks had to do with their look.

The findings recommend peer mindsets from both kids and ladies substantially affect women’ experiences of sport, highlighting the requirement for education from an extremely young age on the enduring effect unfavorable remarks can have on self-confidence and satisfaction.

Ali Oliver MBE, Youth Sport Trust CEO, stated “The accomplishments of elite professional athletes throughout 2026 have actually been entirely motivating, nevertheless, the success of our nationwide groups and professional athletes alone are inadequate to alter the daily experience of girls and ladies. It’s truly worrying our most current Girls Active Survey results expose a growing pattern for ladies and kids to see some sports coming from a single gender. This can lead to youths internalising damaging stereotypes from a young age restricting their goals, aspirations and experiences.

“It would be simple to blame growing dissentious ideologies we understand are getting traction and targeting youths online, however I believe those people leading, mentor and training sport need to ask ourselves whether we are doing enough to deal with gender stereotyping, and guarantee chances are available, inclusive and offered for all youths.

“The systemic modification we require starts in your home and in school, through beliefs, mindsets, and equivalent gain access to and chance for women. We should likewise create sport and exercise around women’ requirements and include their voices in forming all elements of involvement.”

The research study comes as Youth Sport Trust prepares to support the launch of the Equal Sport Project, a brand-new UK-wide sporting sector dedication to advancing equality in females and ladies’ sport.

For schools aiming to take on gender stereotypes in their own settings, Women in Sport’s Teachers Resource: Creating Mini Allies – Women in Sport Charity deals valuable assistance for how teachers can act now.