Factors contributing to gender inequities in physical activity and campus recreation facility use

Abstract

Objective:

Examine college women’s perceptions of factors contributing to gender inequities in physical activity and campus recreational facility use.

Methods:

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with female undergraduate students at a large university located in the Northeast of the United States. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analyses using the socio-ecological model as a conceptual framework.

Results:

Women (N = 18; 6 non-Hispanic White, 5 Black, 7 Asian American; 20.6 ± 1.2 years old) cited intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental factors impacting their physical activity and campus recreation facility use due to their gender. Built environmental factors included facility proximity, facility layout and equipment, and crowdedness. Male peers impacted women by making them feel uncomfortable/intimidated and harassed. Intrapersonal factors included a perceived lack of skills/competence/knowledge, lack of confidence, and self-consciousness.

Conclusions:

Findings demonstrate the need for institutions to implement and enforce policies that achieve a cultural shift in the social environment to provide equitable physical activity participation opportunities.

Keywords:

• Exercise
• resistance training
• fitness centers ethnicity
• sexual orientation

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge: Ellen Brooks and Mya Gladysiewski who conducted the interviews; Pamela Law, Natalie Pace, and Keegan Peterson who helped to check and organize the transcripts; Shaylyn Guasta and Heather Nelson who coded transcripts; and, Joyce Hopson-King, as well as others who assisted with participant recruitment. In addition, the authors express their gratitude to the participants for taking the time to participate in this study and share their experiences.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no interests to declare. This research was self-funded by OW. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of Pennsylvania State University.

Additional information

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.