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June 10, 2022
BOXPARK has launched a #WomxnWhoPlay campaign to champion women in sport and inspire the next generation of female athletes and sports enthusiasts ahead of UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 which begins in July. Kicking off today, the campaign aims to increase awareness of the barriers women in sport face and promote participation.
BOXPARK is the biggest food, culture and social hub in London with three locations – Wembley, Croydon and Shoreditch – made out of shipping containers that place ‘local communities at its heart’. In partnership with Chivas Regal, it has created an “all-womxn sports team” to celebrate women in sport while exploring the deeper issues faced by young women when pursuing a career or hobby in sports. The team is comprised of 12 trailblazers in the sports industry including British Olympic swimmer, Alice Dearing, Olympic sprinter, Jodie Williams and Crystal Palace FC’s Leigh Nicol.
“At BOXPARK, we are very proud to consistently play a role in providing an inclusive and open space for fans of sports to come together,” said PR and Marketing Manager, Tashia Cameron. “We truly hope this campaign can contribute to not only celebrating women and increasing the visibility for them in sport but to also help open a discussion around the setbacks some may face, and how we as a society can help overcome these.”
The collective will share the stories of struggle and success in order to educate on the deeper issues faced by young women pursuing a career or hobby in sports. Earlier this year, a survey conducted by Women in Sport – a UK-based charity working to empower more women and girls to be active – found that more than one million girls lose interest in physical activity as teenagers.
Out of these girls, 68% said that a fear of feeling judged prevented them from taking part, while 61% said they lacked confidence. Just under half said they were too busy with schoolwork to carry on with sport. Another Women in Sport survey specific to activity levels post lockdown highlights that Asian women, who were already the least active group of women, continue to be the least active (46%) followed by black women (52%). In addition, it explained that people from lower socioeconomic groups and those with disabilities or long-term health conditions are less likely to be active and have felt the impact of the pandemic the hardest.
During this two-month initiative, BOXPARK plans to educate young women on ways that they can tackle these issues and pursue their sports passion. As part of the campaign, it will host a series of panel talks with various women in sports from different sporting backgrounds to highlight their journey and achievements, whilst inspiring the younger generation to get active. Panellists will share on how they dealt with their bodies changing during puberty whilst playing sport professionally and their opinions on body scrutiny for female athletes. They will also discuss any mental health struggles they have experienced throughout their careers and how they overcame them.
During the first panel talk set to take place on June 21, panelists will be discussing their different pathways to sport and how women don’t have to play sport to work within the sports industry. They will also discuss the challenges women face working in the industry, specifically focusing on results from a Women in Sport survey, which found that 40% of women in sport feel they are valued less than men in the workplace because of their gender, and 4 in 10 women working in sport report having experienced discrimination in the workplace because they’re female.
The line-up for the first panel includes Carlotta Constant, Fashion Director at GAFFER and Celebrity Fashion Stylist, Pippa Monique, TV Presenter and Sports Broadcaster and Iqra Ismail, Founder of NUR and Director of Women’s Football at Hilltop FC.
Source: London Post
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