International Women’s Day

Inspire Inclusion

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘Inspire Inclusion’. Do men have to be inspiring to be worthy of inclusion? It feels frustrating that women are still fighting for and asking to be included, instead of just being included. But unfortunately, many women and gender non-conforming people don’t feel welcome and safe in different spaces. As a traditionally male dominated field, sports and exercise clubs and facilities are often these spaces. 

The organisers of IWD, about this years theme, say that: 

“when we inspire others to understand and value women’s inlusion, we forge a better world. And when women themselves are inspired to be included, there’s a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment” 

I don’t think I can bring myself to write much about the first part of that statement and try to prove to you women’s worth and value. Time and time again women have made it pretty obvious they bring value to all aspects of society, whether that is sports, business, science, at home etc. Yes there are still a few who don’t understand this value but generally in society women are told they should be included, but this inclusion just isn’t supported enough. Due to lingering misogyny and under-representation, many women still don’t feel empowered to be inlcuded and this is where we should be doing more. 

There has undoubtedly been progress, with more women getting into weight training and the profile of women’s sports increasing. In the last few years we’ve seen a huge increase in interest in women’s football. Only a couple of weeks ago there were record breaking crowds at the Emirates Stadium for a Women’s league fixture match with over 60,000 people attending. The success of the Lionesses has inspired a lot of inclusion for women and girls to play football and have proven that including women isn’t a ‘risk’ that won’t pay off. 12 million people watched the 2023 women’s football world cup final. Research has found that the Lionesses have inspired a 1.5% increase in participation for girls football in 2023 (Women in Sport). Seeing the success and skill of these women showed girls what was possible and has empowered more to take part. Women are already doing incredible things, and platforming them allows others to see their own potential. 

It’s also a lot more common to see women owning the weight areas of gyms, although they are still often the minority in these spaces. Our founders Alexa and Ajaye remember when free weights areas were mostly called the ‘mens area’ and were often just a tiny room.  We’re really proud of what we have achieved at The Project PT, creating an inclusive environment where many people who have said they are too intimidated by other gyms to join, feel welcome here and women aren’t the minority. But we believe all gyms should be like this not just ours. Fitness spaces should be accessible and welcoming for everyone.  

Sometimes people are concerned that including more people will exclude them, but in actuality inclusion always stands to benefit everyone. Women’s football hasn’t stolen fans and funding from mens football, it’s just increased the overall interest in football and is raising the profile of the sport. Inclusion isn’t just about giving certain groups of people more opportunities, although someotimes this is necessary, a more inclusive society allows more opportunities for everyone to thrive. When barriers are broken down for women, they are broken down for everyone. When we break down ideas of what it is ‘to be a woman’, the cracks begin to show elsewhere, and less people feel obliged to uphold stereotypical ideas of femininity and masculinty and can istead live authentically. 

So we hope you feel inspired to try something new today, whatever your gender, if you’re interested in it and it sounds like fun, then its for you! 

Written by Milly Laffey