In May 2023, a survey was sent to sports clubs in Port Phillip, asking about participation in sports for women and girls. 57% of clubs responded to the survey. We heard that:

• There are less women and girls participating in formal sports than for men and boys
• There are a low number of women in committee roles and coaching roles
• There are currently no senior women’s cricket teams in Port Phillip
• Most sports clubs consider the fairness of facility allocations (e.g. sportsground, court, pitch, training nets) for women and girls sport when planning their schedules.

In February and March of 2024, clubs and community were invited to provide feedback on a draft Fair Access in Sport Policy and Action Plan. An Engagement Report is available on this page which summarises what we did, and what we heard from clubs and community members.

We used information gathered from our 2023 survey with clubs (mentioned in 'What's happened so far', above) to guide the development of a draft Policy and Action Plan.

This includes a focus on:

1. Providing community sports infrastructure and environments that are genuinely welcoming, safe, and inclusive.
2. Ensuring women and girls can fully participate in all aspects of community sport and active recreation, including as a player, coach, administrator, official, volunteer and spectator.
3. Adopting and implementing gender equitable access and use practices for all community sport infrastructure.
4. Ensuring sports clubs in our community engage women and girls in leadership and governance roles.

We will also use the survey results to track future changes that happen because of the Policy and Action Plan.