LTA backs commitment to make the UK the world’s leading nation for women and girls’ sport
• 4 minute read
The LTA has joined major sporting organisations and senior figures from across sport in uniting behind an unprecedented cross-sector commitment to make the UK the world's leading nation for women and girls in sport.
The initiative, called The Equal Sport Project, unites sport in the UK behind five shared ambitions to accelerate progress towards equality across sport, from local leisure centres to the biggest stadiums, and from grassroots pitches to boardrooms.
The LTA joins major sporting organisations from all parts of the UK sporting landscape, including the FA, RFU, Youth Sport Trust, England Netball, UK Sport, Women’s Sport Trust, Women in Sport, Team GB, Sport England and The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, have published specific pledges to act and help deliver those ambitions.
This landmark commitment comes at a time when women's sport has never been stronger; participation is growing, audiences are reaching record highs and investment is accelerating. But it also recognises that progress remains deeply uneven and that significant inequalities remain across all areas of the sporting system.
Research published earlier this year by Sporting Insights found that fewer than 1% of women working in sport believe gender equality has been achieved across the industry, while more than half believe they are paid less than men for carrying out the same role.
Women's sport also continues to receive a disproportionately small share of media coverage, accounting for around 9% of sports coverage on key channels and 8% of prime-time sports coverage. Meanwhile, gendered attitudes are increasing, with 41% of boys agree some sports are for boys and nearly two-thirds (64%) of girls want to be more active; confidence, body image, unequal facilities and gender stereotypes continue to present barriers to participation.
Tennis has always been a pioneer for women’s sport and women in sport, setting the agenda on and off-court in so many ways for almost 150 years. In June 2022, the LTA published our She Rallies Ambition, setting out a challenging long-term aim to make tennis and padel in Great Britain gender equal across all areas of our work. This ambition is central to our overall vision - ‘Tennis Opened Up’ - and is at the heart of everything we do.
In pledging our support for the Equal Sport Project, we are committed to delivering on this ambition, working together with partners across the sector.
From Commitment to Action
The Equal Sport Project has identified the five priorities where collective leadership, investment and action can have the greatest impact. These are:
- Equal access to sport for girls in school
- Equal relevance, reach and revenue for women's sport
- An equal workforce across sport
- Governance structures redesigned for equality
- Equal access to sports facilities
The project is a call to action and as part of the pledges being confirmed for the first time today, UK Sport and Sport England have confirmed they will immediately move towards a position where organisations will only be eligible for public funding if they can demonstrate that their governance and decision-making processes have been designed by men and women, for men and women.
The LTA has made the following pledges, in line with our She Rallies ambition:
- Equal Sport for Girls in School: We will work to maintain gender equal tennis participation in schools, and upskill teachers to meet the needs of girls on and off the court through our LTA Youth Schools programme.
- Equal Relevance, Reach and Revenue: We will provide gender equal prize money at Queen's and Eastbourne by 2029. We will maintain a fully integrated performance pathway providing equal support to female and male athletes. We will continue to monitor and improve the gender balance of LTA channels.
- Equal Workforce: We will, including through the LTA Inspire programme we have in place, continue to support women across the tennis and padel workforce to develop and progress through our LTA Inspire Programmes, and will continue our work to improve the gender balance.
- Governance and Structures Redesigned for Equality: We are committed to driving governance reform throughout our sport to counties and venues, to create a more inclusive culture and improve the gender balance of leaders and decision-makers at every level of our sport. We will continue to provide equal access to resource and capacity for men’s and women’s tennis across all aspects of our work, while also addressing historic inequalities.
- Equal Access to Sports Facilities: We will continue to invest in places to play so that women and girls from every community can access our sport. We will aim for gender balanced use of new facilities and will programme activity to reach under-represented groups including women and girls from ethnically diverse communities, underserved communities, and those with a disability or long-term health condition.
Other organisations that have today committed to taking action through the project include Brighton FC, the WSL, British Rowing and the National Association of Head Teachers.
Any organisation with an interest in the future of women's sport in the UK is invited to join The Equal Sport Project and make a measurable commitment towards at least one of the five ambitions over the next two years.
A once-in-a-generation opportunity
The organisations behind the project believe the UK is better positioned than any nation to lead the next era of women's sport.
The success of elite athletes and teams, growing public demand and increasing commercial confidence have created a window of opportunity that few countries can match.
But that success is far from guaranteed with nations around the world investing heavily. Those involved are clear therefore that it is only through taking action now, across the whole sector, that the opportunity in front of the UK can be seized.
Why this matters
The rapid growth of women's sport represents one of the UK's most significant untapped economic, social and reputational opportunities. Growing audiences, investment, participation, events and innovation are creating new markets, jobs and opportunities across the sector.
By establishing itself as the world's leading nation for women and girls in sport, the UK can strengthen its position as a global destination for sporting events, media, talent and investment.
Beyond the economic benefits, greater access to sport can help improve health, wellbeing, confidence and social connectedness for women and girls across the country, helping provide the life changing opportunities that sport can give women and girls across the country.
LTA Chief Executive Scott Lloyd said, "Tennis has led the way for gender equality and has always been a pioneer for women’s sport both on and off the court.
"We are proud to have contributed to the founding of the Equal Sport Project and fully support our collective commitment to make the UK the world's leading nation for women and girls' sport.
"While the Equal Sport Project is a new articulation which is uniting the sports sector, the LTA has long been committed to the principles behind the project.
"We know there is more to do and our She Rallies Plan sets out our commitment and long-term aim to make tennis and padel in Britain gender-equal across all aspects of our sport."
She Rallies
Head to our She Rallies pages to read about about the LTA's ambition to make tennis and padel in Great Britain gender equal across all areas of our work.
