Mitigating the gender gap through sports

“A gender-equal society would be one where the word ‘gender’ does not exist: where everyone can be themselves.”

— Gloria Steinem

Driven by an aspiration to uplift the consciousness of society regarding gender, Pro Sport Development (PSD) and Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage joined hands together in 2022 to conduct three-day residential workshops in three different locations of India — Jaipur, Rajasthan (25-27 February); Ranchi, Jharkhand (22-24 July); and Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (4-6 November).

The youth workers participated enthusiastically in the workshops, which were centered on using sports as a medium to open up discussions about gender, and enhanced their knowledge to implement the learnings at the grassroots level.

Workshop objectives

The main goal of the workshop was to equip youth trainers to effectively use sport to address gender-based challenges in their respective communities. Sessions were made interactive in order to maximize learning, focusing on the following multiple objectives:

• Be familiar with the S.T.E.P procedure to ensure efficient planning and coordination of sports events
• Understand the game delivery protocol
• Learn the fundamentals of warming up and cooling down, as well as the significance of these techniques in sports
• Understand the best ways to instill in kids a variety of soft skills, such as leadership, teamwork, and communication through sports-based activities
• Comprehend the fundamentals of gender theory including difference between gender and sex, gender roles and gender stereotypes
• Understand how to deliver the game in a way that learning outcomes are met, keeping in mind the facilitation skills
• Learn how to incorporate sport-based activities in existing programs and overcome local challenges

Impact of the workshops            

The majority of attendees were able to grasp the workshop's goals with ease.

Many female participants also noted how the program allowed them to experience freedom, as they stepped out of their homes for the first time in their lives to attend this workshop. The workshop provided an interactive space for participants to form new friendships as well.

Many participants were happy with the conceptual understanding they were able to acquire during the training, since it will help them ensure that sport-based programs are delivered effectively.

Participants speak

“Whenever I have used sport in my community, boys and girls never played together. Through this workshop, I learnt how mixed-gender sports could actually be an extremely effective strategy to deal with issues of gender in our community and I will try doing that for sure.”

– A male participant from Ranchi

“I was married off as a child and that has been the biggest source of worry in my life. Through this workshop, I was able to experience freedom in its true sense and I have now gained the courage to fight for my rights.”

- A female participant from Jaipur

“It was good knowing how sport can be utilized to discuss about gender-based discrimination and stereotypes as I had never heard or used this method before.”

- A male participant from Lucknow

Way forward 

The workshops are modest steps towards achieving a greater goal of making an inclusive, equitable and egalitarian society, free from all kinds of biases. PSD, in collaboration with Girls not Brides, looks forward to conducting many more of these workshops all over India.