Study examines sports bias

Sports like rugby have opened doors to female participants

A Tyneside university has been given a £350,000 European grant to study discrimination towards women in sport.

Newcastle-based Northumbria University will carry out the long-term study in an effort to find out ho many women break into traditionally male-dominated sports.

The research project will see up to 60 women offered sports leadership training and qualifications by the university.

Their subsequent employment will then be monitored to see if, with the right training and skills, they can actually get jobs in sport.

The Women in Sport research project is being funded by the European Social Fund, which has given the university £350,000.

Women who take part in the study will be trained in sports as diverse as canoeing to parachute-jumping.

The women completing the scheme will then be tracked to see if their qualifications and experience makes a difference in allowing them to find work in the sports arena.

Katy Storie, project co-ordinator, said: "We hope women completing the course will manage to get paid employment in sports initiatives or, at the very least, become valued sports volunteers.

"We also want to find out if women actually become more employable when they are offered free qualifications and training.

"We are also keen to determine if they take advantage of these qualifications and want to play an active role in sport in their community."