As the usage of virtual spaces increases in all areas of our lives (including work, leisure or physical activity), it’s important to push for equity online too.
But with the backdrop of ongoing online abuse and discrimination, which inhibit participation in sport and physical activity, we’re rightly focused on the importance of creating safe virtual spaces too.
However, safety is only one side of the equation because we’ve also been asking ourselves how we can use technology to improve representation.
An example of this is We Like the Way You Move, the latest phase of our award-winning campaign, This Girl Can.
Technology for good
This phase has included a push for greater visibility of Black women – as well as other underrepresented groups of women – in imagery that promotes participation by sport and physical activity organisations.
This is how it’s worked: with the help of AI, we analysed publicly-available photos that came from parks, gyms, sports clubs, community centres, swimming pools and other leisure facilities across England and sourced via Google Maps, and confirmed that – alongside other minoritised groups of women – those who look like me have been virtually erased.
I’m excited that we’ve found a way to use the power of AI to drive better representation in our sector, because at a point when we’re all figuring out how to be more purposeful in how we use technology, finding insights that we can act on in real-time to contribute to change feels like a tangible win.
This push for greater visibility marks a positive shift that has come with our strategy’s focus on tackling inequalities as we’re working on reshaping our existing efforts to collaborate with different audiences and leaders through initiatives like TRARIIS.
Having celebrated the 10th anniversary of This Girl Can earlier this year, We Like the Way You Move has also used some powerful new imagery of women who have conventionally been excluded from the picture of sport and physical activity.
These are pictures full of joy and love for movement and, at times, I’d say you can almost hear the music they’re moving to.
These images are also a great reminder that women are creating their own platforms in communities, leading change and putting their unique stamp on activities and spaces.
We hope that they will help shift mindsets and that other organisations will follow suit.
On a personal note, it’s wonderful to see references to Caribbean culture, dance and movement in the mix.
It really does make a difference to my motivation and sense of belonging when I can see parts of my identity reflected back to me.
And I’m confident that the breadth of images and ways of moving captured in the campaign will have a similar impact on lots of other women that should have always been in the picture.
