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It’s My Move
A movement for young women
What is It’s My Move?
It’s My Move is an initiative led by Sport NZ that aims to close the gender participation gap. It explores factors like judgement, lack of confidence and fear of failure that are barriers to young women participating in sport and recreation.
These factors mean young women gradually participate less and drop out of structured activity at a faster rate than young men. A range of complex factors contribute to the gender gap. These are explored in research conducted in 2021 that clearly outlines why there is a strong decline in physical activity levels for this demographic.
Together with the support of the sport and active recreation sector in Aotearoa, It’s My Move aims to reduce the gender participation gap. As well as encouraging young women to find physical activity options they enjoy, the movement is about educating parents/caregivers and providers of physical activity about the ways they can support and build the confidence of young women.
It’s My Move is a key initiative in Sport NZ’s Women and Girls Action Plan, which was produced in 2022 to continue driving progress round the Government’s 2018 Women and Girls in Sport and Active Recreation Strategy. It’s My Move continues to shift attitudes thanks to the leadership and support of Sport NZ partners, sector providers and supporters of young women.
Why It's My Move?
- 34% of young women aged 15-17 are meeting the physical activity guidelines.
- The drop-off begins at 12-14, where 48% of 12-14 year-olds meet the guidelines, while 56% of boys meet the guidelines of at least 7 hours per week.
- 9 in 10 young women want to be active
- 96% of young women understand why taking part in physical activity is good for them
- By the age of 16, there is a 22% difference between the time young women and young men spend being active
- By 17, this gender gap increases to 28%
- 68% of young women will avoid doing physical activity if they do not feel confident about their bodies
- 83% of young women aged 17 would like to be more active than they currently are but are more likely to say they are too busy or too tired to increase their participation
To support young women to lead healthy and active lives we need to understand what matters to them.
Become part of the It’s My Move movement and help young women to be active and healthy their way.
Here’s how:
- As a sector leader or provider, explore the research and understand what matters and what motivates young women
- As a parent or caregiver, understand your role in supporting young women in the world of sport and recreation
- As a young woman, move your own way and discover the many ways to be active
It's My Move progress report
Feb 2022 – Oct 2023
Since its inception, It’s My Move has been inspiring shifts in attitude that encourage young women to be more physically active. The TV commercial, aimed at adults, reached more than 1.7 million people, with social activity on TikTok reaching more than 2.2 million young people.
The It’s My Move progress report outlines what we set out to achieve through the campaign, the results to date, as well as where we’re heading next. The report shows encouraging results – It’s My Move is inspiring shifts in attitude that encourage young women to be more physically active.
Of those who had seen the campaign:
- Nearly half of young women surveyed chose physical activities that made them feel good, learned about different ways to be active, or talked to family or friends about being active.
- The response from parents and caregivers has also been encouraging. 84% surveyed have taken action – whether that’s encouraging young women to be active their way or learning about the barriers they experience when it comes to participation.
- 64% of parents and caregivers surveyed have encouraged young women to focus on fun when being physically active, and 58% believe they now know more about what may be holding young women back from being physically active.
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