Active Equity: Towards addressing gender gaps in sports and physical activity in India

Research indicates a significant and expanding gender gap in recreational engagement in sports and physical activity (SAPA) in India, presenting crucial long-term implications that demand attention. Addressing this requires a comprehensive understanding of the patterns of activity and inactivity among girls and women over the course of their lives. This includes pinpointing the specific stages and, more importantly, the underlying reasons for their disengagement from different forms of SAPA. This can serve as a launching pad for formulating targeted strategies and interventions to prevent SAPA drop-offs and sustain participation. This issue brief aims to consolidate and analyze the existing research on the subject, highlighting the pressing need for more extensive and in-depth studies to effectively tackle this challenge.

About SSA: The Sports and Society Accelerator is a public-spirited, independent, not-for-profit organization based out of India working to shape the world around us through sports and physical activity (SAPA). Its focus is on actionable policy and regulatory guidance and recommendations, data-led research, proofs of concept, projects and programmes, and assistance and advisory services to stakeholders and partners.