On International Day of the Girl, we celebrate the strides that have been made towards gender equity in Canada; however, we acknowledge there is still a long way to go. Through dedicated research and programming, Jumpstart is committed to championing gender equity and intersectionality in sport to ensure all kids can get the benefits of sport and play. To learn more, please visit https://bit.ly/2LzMjYc
I am intentionally getting ahead of this now. Because this topic is too important to get lost. Before you start to read all the incredible stories that will be shared during the International Day of the Girl on October 11th, I wanted to also share that we still have a lot of work to do. Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities' State of Play report dedicates an entire section to the intersection between race and gender and shines a light on some of the important gaps that still exist in our efforts to make sport affordable and accessible to as many kids as possible. For example, girls of color have the highest proportion of youth who report not participating in sports anymore since the pandemic. Or that compared to white girls and white boys, a higher proportion of girls of color choose not to play sports because they feel like they are not good enough to play, because they lack information about available sports programs, and because they do not want to get hurt. And that across groups of intersecting racial and gender identities, girls of color report the lowest occurrences of representation among their coaches. These are among the reasons why Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities created Play To Lead – a program designed to foster a powerful network of women and girls and to provide an enabling environment for high-school aged athletes to reach their full potential as leaders in, and through, sport – while also advancing gender equity and diversity in sport. We can only close the gaps that still exist when youth are involved in designing the solutions. It’s why we are so proud of Play To Lead and what it will accomplish. And why we are so proud to work with partners like Canadian Women & Sport | Femmes et sport au Canada, Fast and Female Supporting Women in Sport Foundation and She's4Sports, among others. There is much for us to celebrate on October 11th. And much more for us to do.