Girls' Sports Exclusion Costs UK Billions in Lost Opportunities

According to recent research, girls who participate in after-school sports in the UK are 50% more likely to secure top jobs later in life, a benefit equivalent to earning a university degree. However, the study reveals that girls aged 11 to 18 are missing out on 1.4 hours of sports per week compared to boys, with 340,000 more girls excluded due to cost and lack of local access.

The research found that women who played extracurricular sports as children were much more likely to reach senior professional roles. This is attributed to the resilience, confidence, and adaptability that sports build, with women who played sports almost a third more likely to handle pressure well and bounce back after hard times.

The government is now investing £400 million in areas lacking sports facilities and launching a new women's sport taskforce to address these disparities. Experts say more concrete actions from stakeholders, including the media, are needed to increase girls' participation in sports and drive gender equality. Enabling 18-year-old girls to play sports could generate £30,000 in lifetime economic benefit per person and lead to £6.5 billion in economic and health benefits for the UK by 2035.