Decision details

Moved by Councillor Miller, seconded by the Chair (the Lord Mayor) –

It is resolved that:

(A)      Council note:

(i)         the City of Sydney’s ongoing commitment to achieving a ‘City for All’ is reflected in the way we design and program our public places including open space, cycle ways, sporting fields and community facilities;

(ii)        despite the myriad mental and physical health benefits of sport, recreation and participation in community life by girls, female teenagers, young women and those who identify as gender non-binary:

(a)       50 per cent of Australian girls are quitting sport by the age of 15, compared to 30 per cent of their male counterparts;

(b)       while team sport participation is down, girls, female teenagers and young women tend to favour participation in non-team sport activities; and

(c)       within the City of Sydney, it is unclear to what extent girls, female teenagers, young women and those who identify as gender non-binary have equal access to sport, recreation and community facilities as boys, male teenagers and men;

(iii)      there is some emerging evidence to suggest that women exercise and socialise in public space less than men;

(iv)      only about a quarter of the people who cycle up to five kilometres in the Greater Sydney area are women; and

(v)       adolescent girls tend to use parks less than their male peers; and

(B)      the Chief Executive Officer be requested to:

(i)         investigate the application of the ‘gender mainstreaming’ approach (undertaken by the City of Vienna since the 1990s) to the development of the Sustainable Sydney 2050 planning to ensure that public spaces, sport, recreation and facilities are planned for, designed and implemented with women – particularly girls, female teenagers, young women and those who identify as gender non-binary – in mind;

(ii)        investigate research opportunities to better understand if/and to what extent there may be a ‘gender play gap’ when it comes to the usage of City of Sydney facilities such as skate parks, outdoor gyms, basketball courts, indoor studios, tennis courts and community sports fields;

(iii)      in the instance that there are significant gaps are identified, investigate ways in which public space design and programming can more equitably provide girls, female teenagers, women and those who identify as gender non-binary, equal opportunity to participate, thereby contributing to our realisation of a ‘City for All’; and

(iv)      where the City does not have the power to directly affect these changes, advocate to the State Government to influence more equitable outcomes.

Carried unanimously.

S129262