Discover why closing the sport gap for women and girls is vital for health, confidence, leadership and equality this International Women’s Day—and how simple actions from parents, schools and workplaces can change the game.
This International Women's Day, Ann and I had the privilege of attending a fantastic conference organised by the Institute of Directors. Our keynote speaker was Stephanie Hilborne OBE, Chief Executive of Women in Sport, whose presentation delivered statistics that stopped us in our tracks.
As we listened, something profound crystallised: the barriers women and girls face in sport aren't biological—they're societal. And that realisation demands action.
Let me share some of Stephanie's research with you:
Girls play 24% less team sports than boys. This matters more than you might think. Look at the women leading major companies—among the few female CEOs in the FTSE 100 (around 9 in 2026), the overwhelming majority have played competitive sports. Why? Because sport teaches you the lessons life demands: you learn to win and lose, to compete fairly, to disagree respectfully, to fail and get back up. You learn that merit and fairness don't always prevail, and that resilience is everything.
There's a stunning dream deficit: 60% of boys dream of being elite athletes, while only 30% of girls do.This isn't a stubborn gap—it's a stubborn injustice.
Women weren't allowed to compete in the Olympic marathon until 1984, and the Olympic ski jump until 2017. Think about that. In the span of a single lifetime, we've gone from exclusion to excellence. Women have thrived in these sports so rapidly—what might we achieve if girls grew up knowing these doors were always open?
At age 5, sociological research shows girls have less skill hitting and kicking balls. We don't ignore fine motor skill deficits in boys—we intervene. We need the same commitment to girls' gross motor skill development.
By the time girls leave school, self-belief has crashed. This matters urgently because 90% of bone density is laid down by age 18. We're not just missing out on the physical health benefits—we're losing the social and psychological gains of movement and sport.
1.3 million girls drop out of sport during their teenage years. One million, three hundred thousand girls. Walking away. What are we losing?
Nature vs Nurture: A Question That Demands Honesty
The more I think about these statistics, the more I've had to reckon with what's truly biological and what's been constructed by society. The honest answer is: most of it is societal.
We've built a world where girls are subtly steered away from sport. We celebrate boys' physical prowess and expect girls' interests to lie elsewhere. We fail to encourage girls, while we champion boys to push harder, train longer, dream bigger.
These messages begin early, compound over years, and by adolescence they've reshaped how girls see themselves.
But here's the thing: this can be changed.
The word "sport" comes from the Old French desporter—to carry away the mind from serious matters, a diversion from work. There's something beautiful in that etymology: sport is freedom. It's relief from burden. It's permission to play, to try, to pursue something for the joy of it rather than for productivity or status.
We want every girl and woman to know that this freedom is theirs too.
When girls and women play sport, they gain:
This is the heart of International Women's Day's theme this year: Give to Gain.
When we give girls and women access to sport—when we give them space on the playing field, when we give them investment in facilities and coaching, when we give them permission to dream big—what do we gain?
We gain stronger, healthier, more confident women and girls.
We gain future CEOs who understand competition and fairness.
We gain daughters, sisters, and friends who know their own strength.
We gain a society where women aren't held back by invisible walls that were never meant to be there.
This International Women's Day, I'm asking: What can you do?
The work that organisations like Women in Sport do matters profoundly. It matters for girls' health, for their confidence, for their futures. But it can't happen without all of us.
This International Women's Day, let's commit to giving girls and women what they deserve: the freedom, the space, and the joy that sport brings.
Because when we do, everyone gains.
Christien Bird
International women's Day 2026
