Report Sheds Light on Lack of Inclusion of Black Girls in Sports

By Lois Elfman

The United Kingdom based organization Women in Sport holds the motto “Because women and girls belong.” Determining there was an issue of inclusion among Black girls in sports, Women in Sport carried out research on the topic and last month published a report entitled, “Black Girls and Sport: A Break Up Story.”

The team launched a powerful companion campaign video, “Dear Sport,” in which Black girls explain why –– despite their love of sports –– they have ceased their engagement in organized sports.

“We have spent the last 18 years or so researching teenage girls quite prolifically because we know it’s a really challenging life stage where girls are more likely to disengage with sports for a multitude of reasons,” said Tanya Martin, head of insight and innovation at Women in Sport. “Across the course of that research and looking at the data that we and other organizations had, we started to see trends.

“What we found is that Black girls overall generally have a very positive attitude toward sport,” she added. “Black girls, in particular, are twice as likely than white British girls to dream of becoming a top sports person. Yet that real love of sport that the girls have is not translating to what is actually happening on the ground. Black girls have the lowest physical activity of all girls from any ethnic group.”

The research was conducted from September 2024 through January 2025. Key points in the report are that 85% of Black girls say sport and physical activity are important for having fun and feeling happy and carefree. That number rises to 94% for those who are very active. But outside of school, only 14% of Black girls are active for 30 minutes or more on average. 32% of Black girls say they are frequently penalized or get in trouble for expressing themselves in sports and physical activity.

Women in Sport is calling on sports leaders to commit to being proactive in addressing misogyny and racism through policies and effective leadership. Also, coaches need to make sports more joyful. 

“We recognize that women and girls are not a homogenous group, so we also work deeply to understand women and girls’ lives and needs in all their beautiful diversity,” said Martin. “We hope that this research will…get people talking about these real issues that Black women and girls are facing so that we can see shifts and get some real systemic change in sport.”

This post appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

The post Report Sheds Light on Lack of Inclusion of Black Girls in Sports was published in Word in Black.