Sky backs Equal Sport Project's pledges to improve equality through five shared ambitions across industry

Sky Sports is proud to support Equal Sport Project, which aims to accelerate progress towards equality across sport through five shared ambitions.

The Equal Sport Project unites sport in the UK behind five shared ambitions for women and men across sport - from local leisure centres to the biggest stadiums, and from grassroots pitches to boardrooms.

Major sporting organisations from across the UK's sporting landscape - including the FA, RFU, Youth Sport Trust, England Netball, UK Sport, LTA, Women's Sport Trust, Women in Sport, Team GB and Sport England - have made specific pledges to drive progress and help turn these ambitions into reality. Brands and broadcasters are also playing their part, signalling growing support for the movement across the wider sporting industry.

The rest of the industry is also being asked to commit support and pledges as the project seeks to gain momentum in the months and years to come.

The project launch comes at a time when the momentum of women's sport has never been stronger; participation is growing, audiences are growing and investment is accelerating.

But it also recognises that progress remains deeply uneven and that significant inequalities remain across all areas of the sporting system - from community and school sport right up to the highest levels.

Research published earlier this year by Sporting Insights found that fewer than 1 per cent of women working in sport believe gender equality has been achieved across the industry, while more than half believe they are paid less than men for carrying out the same role.

Women's sport also continues to receive a disproportionately small share of media coverage, accounting for around 9 per cent of broadcast sports coverage on key channels and 8 per cent of prime-time sports coverage. Meanwhile, gendered attitudes are increasing, with 41 per cent of boys agreeing some sports are for boys and nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of girls want to be more active; confidence, body image, unequal facilities and gender stereotypes continue to present barriers to participation.

From commitment to action

Accepting that there are already myriad priorities across the sector, The Equal Sport Project has identified five specific areas where collective leadership, investment and action will have the greatest impact and calls on the entire system to align behind them.

These are:

• Equal access to sport for girls in school
• Equal relevance, reach and revenue for women's sport
• An equal workforce across sport
• Governance structures redesigned for equality
• Equal access to sports facilities

This project is a call to action, which Sky is proud to support.

"For more than 30 years, Sky has backed women's sport," Sky Sports CEO Johnathan Licht wrote on LinkedIn.

"Today, we're the UK's leading investor in women's sports rights, investing in its growth and giving female athletes a platform on the biggest stage.

"But visibility is only part of the story. Lasting change means breaking down the barriers that prevent girls from having the same opportunities to play, participate and stay in sport.

"Our Game Changing research found that girls in the UK miss out on 280m hours of sport every year. That's a gap we're determined to help close.

"That's why I'm proud that Sky is pledging its support to the Equal Sport Project. We'll continue to use our investment, platforms, partnerships and insight to grow women's sport, while going beyond broadcasting to create more opportunities for girls to participate.

"Through initiatives including the Alessia Cup and our wider Game Changing work, we're focused on turning visibility into participation and helping create lasting change for women and girls in sport.

"There's much more to do, and more to come from us on this soon. Collaboration across the industry will be critical if we're going to break down these barriers and close the gap."

(c) Sky Sports 2026: Sky backs Equal Sport Project's pledges to improve equality through five shared ambitions across industry