“We’re putting all our eggs in the gender basket”: examining the absence of intersectionality within community sport gender equity

Since 1987, Australia has witnessed dedicated policies and investment aiming to increase the number of girls and women participating in community sport. Over four decades, gender equity policies and initiatives have been extensive; however, these have rarely sought to explicitly address intersectional forms of discrimination experienced by women and girls. There is also a lack of understanding of how community sports clubs respond to intersectional discrimination within gender equity efforts. Using a feminist intersectional lens, we consider how community clubs seek to address inequities experienced by women, girls, and gender diverse people that experience multiple forms of oppression in Victoria, Australia. Through policy analysis, observations and interviews with 13 local government employees and 42 sports club volunteers, we examined understandings, discourses, and enactment of intersectional responses to gender equity. Most sporting clubs and local government employees did not understand intersectionality, nor considered or enacted intersectional approaches to gender equity. Across “diversity and inclusion” in local sports contexts, siloed or additive approaches to addressing discrimination were most common with limited consideration of gender. We recommend sport governing bodies to engage with power in developing policies and cultures that are responsive to intersectional forms of discrimination if gender equity efforts are to move beyond only benefitting white, able bodied, cis-gendered women.