Published: March 18, 2000
Girls drop out of sports at a rate that is six times greater than boys by the age of 14.
They do so because of a combination of factors that include:
(1) lack of participation opportunities -- boys have twice the number of participation opportunities in high school and college
(2) lack of the same encouragement to play sports as is received by boys. Every time a boy receives a glove or a ball as a gift, or turns on the television and sees crowds cheering images of himself playing, he knows he's supposed to play sports. Girls aren't receiving the same messages. She needs to get sports gifts as well as dolls. She needs to see images of herself playing sports because they are not often on television. She needs to go to see women play sports so she can have role models. Boys need to go to see women play sports so they will grow up respect girls' skills and abilities in sports.
(3) starting her sport participation two years later than boys, thereby being less skilled when she starts (usually playing with and against boys) which in turn makes it less likely that she will have a success experience. If she isn't successful, sport won't be fun. If sport isn't fun, she won't play. "Fun" is the #1 reason why children play sports. So, she needs to go to that game at a young age and start playing sports as soon as she can. If a girl doesn't play sports by the time she is 10 years old, there is less than 10% chance she will be playing when she is 25.
The stakes are high. Every parent should encourage their daughter to play sports because:
· High school girls who play sports are less likely to be involved in an unwanted pregnancy; less likely to be involved with drugs and more likely to graduate from high school (Women's Sports Foundation, 1989.)
· One to three hours of exercise a week over a woman's reproductive lifetime (the teens to about age 40) can bring a 20-30 percent reduction in the risk of breast cancer, and four or more hours of exercise a week can reduce the risk almost 60 percent. (Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 1994)
· We cannot ignore the lesson of generations of women who were not permitted to play sports or encouraged to participate in weight-bearing exercises that are necessary to laying down bone mass -- our mothers and grandmothers. One out of every two women over the age of 60 are suffering from osteoporosis (National Osteoporosis Foundation, 1992)
· Girls and women who play sports have higher levels of self esteem and self-confidence, stronger self-images and lower levels of depression (Ms. Foundation, 1991)
· Sport is where boys have traditionally learned about teamwork, goal-setting, achievement orientation and the pursuit of excellence in performance -- critical skills necessary for success in the workplace. Women need those same skills. In a recent study of female executives at Fortune 500 companies, 80% self-identified as having been "tomboys"
More and more corporations are interested in funding women's sports events for several reasons:
· Women have outpurchased men in athletic shoes and apparel since 1991 (over $21 billion a year)...they are the majority purchasers of product, both athletic and non-athletic
· More and more women consumers identify themselves as "active women" who enjoy sports and physical activity
-- In 1970, only 1 out of ever 27 high school girls played varsity sports...today, that figure is 1 in 3 (for boys it is 1 in 2 so they still have twice the opportunities to play)
· As women have been given the chance to play sports, they have become more educated about sports and enjoy it as consumers of sports events -- both men's and women's events
· We should make every effort to support those companies who are supporting women's sports...exercising our economic power