Sport Ireland has announced an investment in its Women in Sport Programme of €4 million over 2021 and 2022.
They said the investment aims to support National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGBs) and enhance all aspects of female involvement across the Women in Sport policy target areas.
This includes namely coaching & officiating, active participation, leadership and governance as well as visibility.
Recognising that effective and sustainable programmes require a long-term approach, Sport Ireland said they are committed to a two-year Women in Sport investment cycle.
The continuation of this two-year award cycle will enable NGBs to further progress their strategic objectives for women in sport.
Speaking about the funding. Minister for Sport, Catherine Martin said: “Addressing the participation gap in sport and physical activity for women and girls is a priority of the National Sports Policy 2018-2027. In recent years we have seen some improvements in this area.
The Women in Sport funding aims to support NGBs and enhance all aspects of female involvement across the Women in Sport policy target areas
Coaching & Officiating
Active Participation
Leadership & Governance
Visibilityhttps://t.co/F3qYDNrhs3#WomeninSportIRE pic.twitter.com/WVqTz17ASd— Sport Ireland (@sportireland) July 1, 2021
“The Government and Sport Ireland are committed to continuing this work with the aim of eliminating the participation gap by 2027.
“While the interim Q1 2021 Irish Sports Monitor, published by Sport Ireland, shows that the gender gap in participation has been eliminated during Covid-19 restrictions, there is a lot of work to do to ensure that more women and girls participate in sport and physical activity.”
She said as we gradually re-open society we must work to ensure sport and physical activity become a “meaningful part of the day-to-day lives of all women in society.”
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Sport Jack Chambers added: “The previous cycle of Women in Sport funding saw significant strategic advancements in the promotion of Women in Sport.
"Despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, progress was made on many of the strategic objectives set out in the Women in Sport Policy."
He said they are seeing the results of this work in the participation figures and also importantly in the board composition of NGBs, with an increase from 24 per cent of females serving on NGB boards in 2019 to 29 per cent in 2020.
He added “There is still a long way to go to improving these figures, but the funding announced today will go towards promoting more involvement in sport and physical activity at all levels, from the pitch to the boardroom.”
