RYA Northern Ireland is calling for participants to take part in research which aims to provide a better understanding of the experiences of women and girls in sailing.
When it comes to participation, the number of women and girls taking part in sailing has always been lower than that of men and boys. The current club membership in Northern Ireland shows a ratio of 35 to 65, meaning nearly twice as much male participation.
However, this number is often even more imbalanced when it comes to roles in the sailing workforce, such as coaches, instructors, officials and club volunteer positions.
Some male focus groups will also be taking place in the future and the governing body will consider whether a similar survey would be helpful, too.
RYANI’s chief operating officer Greg Yarnall says: “This is vitally important research. We are hopeful that by building a fuller picture of the barriers for women and girls in our sport, we will enable a future where gender parity exists across the sport.”
The research has some key areas of focus, including the following:
- Developing a better understanding of the barriers to taking part and reasons for dropping out
- Better understanding women’s and girls’ motivations across the talent and performance pathway and how better support can be provided to enable women and girls to progress
- Developing an understanding of the experiences and environments that have helped or hindered women’s and girls’ participation in the sport from grassroots to elite level
- Building understanding about what would enable more women and girls to start or continue their participation, take part more regularly or pursue a career in the sport
- Gaining information and understanding on the motivators for women and girls to join workforce and volunteer-based roles and identify any issues regarding access
RYANI is conducting the research with Emma Vickers, an ex-England international athlete and head of insight at TASS, an independent sports research body.
Responses will be analysed by Vickers independently with all participants remaining anonymous. The results will then be fed back to RYANI with a series of recommendations.
Yarnall says: “We would be delighted if as many women and girls as possible could complete the survey, as this will really help to build our understanding.”
Anyone that completes the survey will have the opportunity to win either a £100 or £50 Musto or Helly Hansen voucher.
Follow this link to complete the survey before the deadline of Monday 3 April.