Girls need more role models. If you can see it, you can be it
When Judy Murray started out as a volunteer coach at her local tennis club, she didn’t feel in the minority as a woman.
“There were no coaches in those days in our area. In fact, there were hardly any people coaching tennis at all,” she recalled.
“The world was in a different place then compared to now, when many people make a living out of sports coaching.
“When I started to realise women were in the minority was when I began to travel down south and overseas. There were lots of coaches but very few of them were female.
“When I started to do international tournaments with junior players and to attend workshops and conferences, I realised only about 10% of the audiences were female.
“There is still a huge gap. For me, it’s not just about coaches, it’s about women in all aspects of sport, from sports psychologists and fitness trainers to agents, physios and media. We need a lot more women in the sporting workforce to create a more balanced sporting society.”
Murray has long argued the importance of more women PE teachers “who understand all the physical and emotional changes that teenage girls are going through, purely from the perspective that they were once young girls and experienced the same things.”
“The sports world is dominated by men,” added Murray. “There are still very few women in decision-making positions. Until each sport has a dedicated strand in their development strategy that focuses on women and girls – and is led by a woman – we are always going to play second fiddle.
“We are always playing catch-up. Men understandably see the world through men’s eyes and hear the world through men’s ears but that doesn’t help us.”
More career pathways must be found for women in sport, she said.
“Too many women get stuck at beginner level and, while some discover that is their level of choice, those who have the desire and ability to go further find there is very little support or encouragement,” said the former British Fed Cup captain. “Girls and young women need to see sporting role models at every stage of the game.
“I am always saying, ‘If you can see it, you can be it’ – and if you don’t see a female coach or board member or manager, young girls might not think it’s something they can do.
“I am a massive believer in the need for more women in the sporting workforce. It’s absolutely essential.
“You can see certain sports are not as appealing to girls because there’s a perception that it’s something that boys do, and that needs to change.
“We shouldn’t stereotype sports into boys doing martial arts and girls doing netball.
“We should be encouraging all kids to have a go at as many sports as possible to see what they enjoy and are best suited to.”
Children, unlike their parents or grandparents, are incredibly adept with new technology. Hand a three-year-old an ipad and it will only be a matter of minutes before they figure out how to swipe, tap and scroll through the apps.
The youngest generation, who have grown up with super-speed broadband, social media, Netflix and more, have been so vt in tech innovations that many will be more comfortable holding a game controller than a pencil by the time they start school.
So, it’s no wonder we’re starting to worry about the impact screen time is having on their development – especially after the past 18 months when laptops and tablets have been our main form of entertainment, not to mention sole access to friends and family, and even the classroom.
There have, of course, always been phone bans from concerned parents here, limited TV time before bed there, but few have found real ways to curb how much time kids spend online. Well, unless you live in China.
Last week, new rules were introduced there to ban under-18s from playing video games for more than three hours a week, as part of plans to tackle the country’s growing addiction to gaming, or what has been dubbed “spiritual opium”.
The move, which strengthens a policy first made law in 2019, means youngsters will only be allowed to play the likes of Call Of Duty and Fortnite for one hour a day, from 8pm to 9pm, on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and applies to games consoles, phones and other media.
The new restrictions are so serious, gaming companies are being banned from providing services to minors outside the mandated hours, and many are introducing measures such as facial recognition software to verify who is playing their games.
The Chinese regime has the power to simply switch off access to anything deemed harmful or addictive.
I’ve visited China on a few occasions for work, and it’s clear how difficult it is for the public to access information from other parts of the world, as internet usage is controlled.
I’ve always felt that parents and schools should limit the amount of time children spend on screens. Yes, it’s easier said than done – especially now so many parents are trying to juggle working from home with childcare – but without strict controls children will happily stay static, and we’re starting to see a generation of children who are underactive, over-weight, and have fewer communication skills.
However, is an outright ban the best way to tackle the problem? Let’s face it, where there’s a will, there’s a way, and you can be sure some clever Chinese youngsters are already trying to find ways of subverting the ban. After all, if you tell kids not to do something, they want to do it more.
So, perhaps a better move would be to take young people’s passion for gaming and turn it into something more positive.
Many children can concentrate for long periods on a computer, working out puzzles and challenges. Many kids learn how to compete on screens, whereas previously they would learn the same skills through written or verbal tests, and activities or sports.
If they enjoy the challenge of working their way through, for example, a computerised maze, perhaps there’s a way that could be turned into an active game in the garden. Or maybe we could ask children how they would like computers and games to be introduced into educational settings.
Technology is advancing at such a fast pace, and although it’s right we encourage young people to enjoy active, real-world activities, rather than living online, we do need to understand the world according to children.