Legislation and Policy

National Laws and Key Policies on Gender Equality in Physical Education, Physical Activity, and Sport

 

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

United Kingdom has developed an array of policies and strategies to promote gender equity in physical education, physical activity, and sport. The “Sporting Future” and “Uniting the movement” strategies both entail the promotion of sports and physical activies for women and girls. The former also targets gender equity in physical education, in line with the “School Sport and Activity Action Plan”.

The domains of elite sports and governance are at the center of the “Code for sport governance”, a strategy that focuses on the inclusion of women in the various roles of athletes, coaches, and officials.

International Policy Frameworks – United Kingdom

The GO Policy Mapping initiative looks at a set of international policy frameworks that apply across all countries. This table zooms in on United Kingdom, showing whether it has joined each framework, if legal obligations are attached, and which organisation is framework holder.

You can sort the columns to view the information in different ways. For the full list of frameworks visit Frameworks site.

Directory of National Laws and Key Institutions – United Kingdom

Browse or quickly find relevant national legislation, strategy, or action plan using the search and filter options. You can filter entries based on country, themes and impact area or search using keywords to locate specific document. Discover British national laws and key policies on gender equality & sport with just a few clicks! 

wdt_ID wdt_created_by wdt_created_at wdt_last_edited_by wdt_last_edited_at Policy Type Policy Policy Authority Year Enacted Impact Areas website
11 Strategy Uniting the movement Sport England 2021 Physical Activity, Physical Education https://sportengland-production-files.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2021-02/Sport%20England%20-%20Uniting%20the%20Movement%27.pdf?VersionId=7JxbS7dw40CN0g21_dL4VM3F4P1YJ5RW
12 Strategy Sporting Future: A new Strategy for an Active nation Central and local government 2015 Sport, Physical Activity, Physical Education https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/486622/Sporting_Future_ACCESSIBLE.pdf
13 Policy Closing the gender play gap, cost-neutral proposals for a new Government Women in Sport   Sport, Physical Activity, Physical Education https://womeninsport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Mind-the-Gender-Play-Gap-Recommendations-for-Womens-Sport-WEBSITE.pdf
14 Strategy A code for sport governance UK sport and Sport England 2016 Sport https://sportengland-production-files.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2021-12/A%20Code%20for%20Sports%20Governance..pdf?VersionId=Q0JD6BVXB.VgwbGEacG0zWsNPiWcGDHh
Policy Type Year Enacted Impact Areas

Data Statement

The information presented in this country profile has been collected by the GO from publicly available sources. The data is then reviewed by the members of the GO network. Dates of data collection and review are indicated below and updated on an ongoing basis.

  • Data collected: August 2025

  • Data review: In progress

If you notice any gaps or errors in the existing data, don’t hesitate to contact us at data@genderequalitysport.org.