ukactive and Sport England's This Girl Can campaign have joined forces to publish a practical guide filled with fresh insight, guidance and tangible solutions to support fitness and leisure operators in getting more women and girls active within their facilities.

Launched today (10 November), the guide, called 'How to improve your services for women and girls: As told by the 51%', is designed to help gyms and leisure facilities to reduce the barriers experienced by many women and girls who would like to be more active – with the title reflecting the fact that women make up over half of the population.

The work forms part of a shared ambition proposed by Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, between ukactive, the Government and its agencies, to grow the membership of these facilities by more than five million people by the end of the decade.

Before the pandemic, fitness-based activities were a major contributor to female participation in physical activity. Sport England's Active Lives Survey 2019 showed that 21% of women and girls aged 16 and over had taken part in fitness classes at least twice in the previous 28 days. It also showed rising demand, with a 1.6% rise between 2018-2019 in women and girls taking part in weights session at least twice in the previous 28 days.

From ukactive.