Last year the NZ Government released its Women and Girls in Sport and Active Recreation Strategy.

The Government’s vision is to enable women and girls to realise their potential in and through sport and active recreation. The Strategy has three priority areas: leadership, participation, and value and visibility.

Above all the Strategy aims to ensure that all women and girls, in all roles, are visible, feel positive about the contribution they make, and value being involved and participating in all levels of sport and active recreation.

This strategy picks up the momentum of a global movement towards empowering women and girls through being active, recognising the value of this as a means to improve wellbeing and equity. It acknowledges that women and girls are not homogenous groups and have differing needs that must be met in order to best support and engage with them.

Through Sport NZ the Government announced they will invest at least $10m over the next three years on initiatives to enable more women and girls to realise their potential in and through sport and active recreation. Funds to support these initiatives include:
• Young Women’s Activation Fund
• Innovations for Young Women Fund

How Sport NZ will bring the strategy to life is found in this document – Women and Girls in Sport and Active Recreation.

Background data and information to the strategy can be found in these documents:
• Sport NZ Girls and Young Women Profile
• Case studies » Sport New Zealand
• Infographic – The case for Change

See also HERA Every day Goddess – this website contains resources and tips for coaching women and some case studies of programmes encouraging female participation.