1. Increasing female participation, inclusion and safety
Achknowledge
Luke Ablett & Darebin/Moreland City Council previous work & VicHealth. Local clubs we worked with. Our sport and rec team, kate bolton – feminist researcher, sport and inclusion group in yarra ranges esp Jacinda and others we worked with

2. What is She’s Game?
Funded through Medicare Local between February and October, 2015
Our approach focused on:
The benefits of female participation
The barriers to increased female participation
The actions clubs can take to overcome these barriers
Between .6 and .8 EFT Band 6
We have applied for further funding internally…
Key enabler for success has been the flexibility in the project design and delivery to respond to the needs of individual clubs and build on our learnings along the way
See slide next page for graph

3. 83% of users of Councils pavilions (in sports clubs etc) are male
Just in terms of community reach and best value for investment, this is a lot of community members missing out, let alone the gender implications of this exclusion..
It is argued that cultural and gendered patterns of sport participation reflect underlying inequalities in access to community opportunities and infrastructure (council business)

4. Face to face Partnering with Leisure Networks from Geelong
Clubs participated in three separate seminars
Gender Equity in Sport (benefits, barriers and actions)
Governance
Long term/strategic planning
(All three seminars focus female participation, inclusion and safety)
Coffee and chat time
Flyers for more information about leisure networks here
We built into the project loads of contact time with Luke and Leisure networks, for coffee and chats with the club and hands on support from the beginning of an idea to its implementation (in some cases)

5. Club committee having a conversation at one of the seminars
Run at the club at the time that suits them

6. Feedback
“We believe that the training was the most significant and important training our club has undertaken in many years” – Shaun Hudson, West Footscray Football Club
100% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed with the following statements:
I believe that increasing the number of women in our clubs will make our club stronger
This session has helped me better understand the barriers to women participating in sport
This session was delivered in a manner that was easy to understand and follow
I would recommend this session to other clubs
This session is a good starting point for clubs wanting to increase female participation
benefits
Improved rapport between council and clubs
Recruitment of more female committee members
Improved meeting procedures (incl reducing meeting from 4 hours to 2)
Inaugural girls team established
Website and posters changed to be more gender inclusive
Clubs using the She’s Game video

7. RESEARCH
273 female identified people from the local area completed a survey exploring motivations for sport, the barriers they face, and the actions that can overcome these barriers.
We found:
92.6% of women indicated that they would like to be more active
Safety, Affordability, Timing, Family and caring obligations, Sport vs. Physical activity
This has been a key to working with our internal rec team – esp coupled with the data that shows currently only 17% of women are participating
Opportunity to increase focus from increasing gender equity in organised sport (sports clubs) to increasing participation in physical activity more broadly
For example we are now running the westie women food bike rides and the MAC swim passes program

8. POLICY UPDATES
Working with Council’s Leisure Service team to ensure the prioritisation of female participation
Fees and charges policy
Allocation policy
Capital works agreements
Conditions of Use
Statement of intent
Plaques on all pavilions

10. SUSTAINABILITY
A number of resources were developed to ensure messages extend beyond the life of the project
She’s Game Website –
Video
Small Grants Program
Logo
Online Education Booklet

11. Thanks, emma.wilkinson@maribyrnong.vic.gov.au