The last few decades have seen a transformative increase in women’s participation in sports, driven by goals related to professional achievement, health, and well-being. Although access to sporting activities for women has expanded, this has not been matched by a corresponding increase in research and information. Consequently, professionals working with female athletes often lack robust, evidence-based guidelines to support proper training and care. Much of the available sports science literature is focused on male athletes, making it necessary for coaches and other professionals to extrapolate findings from men to women. This practice fails to account for sex-specific differences, such as the menstrual cycle and distinct anatomical, mechanical, and physiological characteristics, thus highlighting the need for a shift toward understanding the factors that influence women’s participation in sports, including social, cultural, and biological considerations.
This Research Topic aims to address the critical gap in knowledge regarding why women do or do not participate in sports and the interventions that have been successful or unsuccessful in encouraging women’s participation. Our goal is to foster research that will provide insights into the barriers and motivators for women in sports, contributing to a deeper understanding of how female athletes can be better supported through evidence-based practices. By advancing the state of the art in this area, we can help develop more effective strategies for promoting women’s involvement in sports, ultimately contributing to the health, well-being, and performance of female athletes with appropriate training, monitoring, and intervention protocols.
We invite contributions that explore the various dimensions influencing women’s participation in sports. The scope of this Research Topic includes, but is not limited to, interventions designed to boost participation, studies of social and cultural factors, and analyses of biological considerations such as the menstrual cycle and hormonal fluctuations. Manuscripts that focus on understanding the barriers women face and the strategies that have proven effective or ineffective in overcoming these barriers are particularly encouraged.
We aim to publish a collection of articles in various formats including Original Research, Review, Case Studies, and Perspectives that cover one or more of the following themes:
• Barriers and motivators for women’s participation in sports
• Interventions that have been successful or unsuccessful in encouraging women’s participation in sports.
• Social and cultural factors influencing women’s sports participation.
• Biological factors, such as the menstrual cycle and hormonal fluctuations, impacting women’s training, performance, and participation in sports.
• Comparative studies that highlight differences and similarities between male and female athletes in the context of participation.
We look forward to receiving high-quality manuscripts that contribute to the expansion and depth of knowledge in this focused and vital area of women’s sports.
Article types and fees
This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:
- Brief Research Report
- Case Report
- Clinical Trial
- Conceptual Analysis
- Data Report
- Editorial
- General Commentary
- Hypothesis and Theory
- Methods
Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.
Keywords: women’s sports, injury prevention, sporting performance, health promotion, gender differences
Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.