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Why Do Girls Drop Out Of Sports At A Rate Six Times Higher Than Boys?

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This Ultimate Sports Parent Radio podcast, hosted by parenting writer and sports mom Lisa Cohn, features PCA trainer Samantha Salvia and PCA Portland Executive Director Ben Dudley discussing why girls drop out of sports at a higher rate than boys.

Highlights of the podcast include:

  • Discussion of the factors contributing to the higher drop out rate for girls, including: lack of role models, cost, access, media coverage, lack of parental support, and societal messages about gender and sports.
  • How the youth sports pay-to-play culture disproportionately impacts girls.
  • About 15% of youth coaches are women. How the lack of female role models and female coaches may contribute to the higher drop out rate for girls. Challenges for women in coaching and how one AYSO in Santa Monica helped combat gender stereotypes about female coaches by printing coaching shirts that read “This is what a coach looks like!”
  • Exploring gender stereotypes about coaching boys and girls and how they can be detrimental to both boys and girls.
  • 80-90% of media coverage is mens’ sports; when women are covered it’s often highly sexualized. What parents can do to counter the lack of media coverage of female athletes and society’s messages about female athletes

Here's where you'll find Sam, Ben, and Lisa talking about the featured topic most specifically:

  • Focus on gender stereotypes- 22:52

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