Women & Girls feedback that cricket is definitely a game for them.
The DCF has fantastic new insight on the experience of females in cricket across Derbyshire thanks to feedback from more than 360 people who completed our recent Women & Girls survey. The survey results confirm that the majority of females feel welcome at their cricket club and believe that cricket is a game for everyone, but they also highlight some areas where more needs to be done to enable women to feel fully included and valued.
Charlie Storr, DCF Women & Girls Development Officer, said “We are delighted with the response to the survey, which has given us valuable feedback on some great practice happening at clubs across the county. It is clear that many women and girls are hugely enjoying their involvement in the game. However, the survey has also highlighted there is still room for improvement at some clubs, where Women & Girls don’t yet feel fully integrated into the club or treated equitably. Overall, though, we’ve made good progress since our last survey in 2021, and these results will help shape the work we do to support increasing female involvement in all areas of the game.”
A summary of the results can be downloaded HERE
Highlights include:
- The majority of females feel welcome at their cricket club and feel respected by their team-mates – the average rating of responses on both is 9.05 out of 10.
- Women are increasingly getting involved in volunteering in cricket – the numbers volunteering in committee roles, coaching, scoring and other voluntary roles has increased since 2021.
- Soft-ball cricket is still the most popular playing format, but more women and girls are now playing hard-ball cricket – 24% are now playing Women’s hardball and 13% are playing in mixed open-age cricket.
- Toilet and changing facilities are still a major cause of dissatisfaction – the majority of those responding said they don’t feel comfortable using the changing facilities at their club.
- Many Women & Girls feel it isn’t yet a level playing field with males at their club – less than half believe women’s teams are treated equally, and only 40% believe they have an equal voice to male members at their club.
- Coloured kit is a hit – 82% prefer to play in coloured kit.
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Charlie commented, “The survey feedback includes almost 500 comments which help provide a clear picture of good practice across the county. Support for Women’s & Girls cricket from the club committee and wider membership is vitally important, as are access to coaching, equal opportunities to play and train, and inclusion in club social activities and events. Facility improvements are understandably a difficult issue to fix for many clubs, but we would still encourage clubs to speak to the DCF to explore improvement opportunities that could be supported through County Grants Funding.”
The DCF will use the survey results to inform their ongoing Women & Girls strategy and will also include the results in discussions with clubs and leagues during the close season. The survey will also form part of a consultation exercise the DCF is undertaking to inform our ongoing work on making cricket a welcoming and inclusive game for everyone. Anybody wishing to join an on-line or in-person workshop to contribute to the discussion on Women & Girls cricket, can find out more and register their interest HERE.
