International Women’s Day provides an opportunity to empower and highlight female-focused charities, movements, campaigns and more. With this year’s focus being #EmbraceEquity, we want to celebrate all women and girls’ achievements, including physical activity and the way women choose to move, raise awareness about discrimination, and act on driving gender parity.
Research shows that the past pandemic and current cost-of-living crisis has had a huge impact on females, meaning the focus on supporting their physical and mental wellbeing has declined. As a consequence, activity levels have fallen, and This Girl Can want to make a change with their next steps.
Since 2015, This Girl Can changed the game and inspired 2.9 million women to get active, sweaty and jiggly by finding forms of movement that makes them feel great.
As part of the This Girl Can next phase, launched in February 2023, they recognised that 2.4 million fewer women than men strongly agree that they enjoy getting active, and it’s up to women and girls to make a stand and close The Enjoyment Gap. Enjoyment is the biggest driver of activity and to reshape women and girls’ experiences of movement to help them feel like they belong, working together is key.
For the next phase, This Girl Can are challenging the practical and structural obstacles that make physical activity feel less welcoming for women. By making activity more safe, social, self-affirming and suitable, it will reshape experiences to welcome all women with open arms, and This Girl Can wants to make a real difference to how women experience activity in their everyday lives.
Active Essex is supporting this by encouraging women and girls across the county to get moving in their own way and try new activities. This Girl Can Essex ambassadors are opening their doors to offer free activity sessions from 6th-12th March. The week-long Women Like Us festival is supported by the Federation of Essex Women’s Institute, and each class will be delivered in a non-judgemental, fun and friendly environment, empowering women of all ages and abilities to move in their way! Some of the activities available are open-water swimming, post-natal Pilates, Zumba dance, yoga and relaxation, drumming and singing to the beat, and so much more!
The #FindYourActive campaign also corresponds with This Girl Can’s ambitions, by highlighting the fact that everyone can enjoy the huge benefits of moving more – it’s just about finding what is right for you. The Find Your Active activity finder allows all individuals, as well as women, to find a local activity, join a class or group and get inspired by what’s happening in their local community.
Explore the activity finder here: https://www.activeessex.org/find-your-active
