International Women’s Day

It is a fact  that women make up are half the population, yet they are under represented within sport and the fitness industry. In the centenary year of women’s right to vote, the rise of social media’s #metoo and This Girl Can campaign it has become even more prevalent to highlight important female figures and how they shape both our workforce and our business.

Diversity is needed to tip the scales and create change throughout the sector. With many current fitness trends originating from women (classes, women’s only swimming etc) it is important to keep motivated and push for progress, pushing more girls and women to participate in sport and increase overall participation across our centres. Women’s make up over half the population, so increasing the percentage of female participants is vital to our business.

Currently just 31.9% of women participate in sports compared to 40.5% of men. With this figure continuing to decline with age. It is more important than ever to re-address that figure. Customers seeing female staff will help to alleviate self consciousness and concerns about ability level whilst at the same dispel the myths of men only gyms / gyms are for men / male dominated places

International Women’s Day doesn’t only have to be about encouraging women involved to use our facilities and services but also into our workplace too. Without the strong leadership of women within our business Parkwood Leisure would be a worse off place. From the work of Debbie Brown as part of our steps to health initiative we have promoted healthier lifestyles to the Bexley area. Debbie’s drive has led her to be nominated for the Unsung Hero award for showcasing the fantastic work and the impact that has had in encouraging many to engage and participate in fitness and exercise. We want to improve the health of our business and local communities, both employees and customers and we can’t do this without striving for equality and reducing the barriers that stand in their way. Getting the under represented groups using facilities is just one area of this.

Leadership is vital to this topic and motivating change in the industry. Parkwood Leisure and our subsidiaries are committed to support/believe in women, not only on International Women’s Day but also for the rest of the year. We’re proud to be employing many female employees from Apprentices, Fitness Instructors, Centre Managers to Brand Managers and Directors. These women will help to shape our future business.

*** To mark International Women’s Day, we as a business will be inviting users to use our facilities for free. Ensuring gender parity amongst our users. Getting more women involved in both the leisure workplace and our customer base is key to securing happier and healthier local communities.