Tackle the hidden barriers that sideline girls

When I worked in tech, I often heard engineering leaders explain why they couldn’t hire more women or minorities: the so-called pipeline problem. They claimed there simply weren’t enough qualified candidates entering the system, so naturally the pool of diverse talent remained thin. Many of us in the ecosystem called BS. The reality wasn’t a lack of qualified people; it was a lack of imagination, access, and commitment to creating inclusive environments where diverse talent could thrive.

Fast forward to my work today in women’s sports. I find myself thinking about that same phrase—this time with a twist. In sports, a pipeline problem is very real, and very serious. Girls drop out of sports at far higher rates than boys, often by age 14. Not because they lack talent or ambition, but because hidden, solvable barriers stand in their way. Research points to a variety of reasons: lack of access to facilities, fewer female coaches, cultural pressures, and economic hurdles. But there are also subtler obstacles—menstrual stigma, inadequate athletic gear, transportation gaps, or not feeling seen and supported in spaces where they’re underrepresented. These aren’t headline-grabbing issues, but they can determine whether a girl keeps playing or quietly walks away.

This isn’t just about missed opportunities on the field. Sports participation is directly tied to confidence, leadership skills, academic performance, and future career success. When we lose girls from the pipeline, we lose future team captains, CEOs, scientists, and community leaders.

THE HIDDEN BARRIERS

With gender equity in sports, the conversation often centers on the field of play—media coverage, equal pay, prize money, sponsorship. These are important, visible markers of progress. Yet, what often goes unnoticed are the less visible, deeply practical barriers that prevent girls from staying in the game in the first place.

This year’s Gainbridge Assists Powered by Parity grants, in partnership with the Women’s Sports Foundation, expanded to empower changemakers addressing these obstacles. Thirty-two recipients across 20 states will receive $222,000 (total), funding projects ensuring girls can fully participate in sport—and benefit from the resulting lifelong confidence, leadership, and health outcomes.

In addition to funding camps, clinics, and playing opportunities in sports from basketball and soccer to fencing, lacrosse, and wrestling, this year’s grantees are tackling some of the obstacles head on. These efforts recognize that access alone isn’t enough if hidden barriers continue holding girls back:

• Menstrual health. For many student-athletes, lack of menstrual products access is a silent barrier sidelining them from school and sport. In 2025, no girl should have to sit out practice because she can’t afford pads or tampons, or because she’s embarrassed to ask for them. Period Project Indianapolis is breaking that silence, distributing free menstrual products and normalizing reproductive health conversations in locker rooms and communities.
  
• Proper gear. For adolescent girls, a well-fitting sports bra can determine whether they stay engaged in sport. Athletes for Hope, partnering with Bras for Girls, provides gear and the education girls need while navigating puberty. Without this kind of intervention, physical discomfort and body image anxieties drive too many girls to drop out during adolescence.
  
• Mental health support. Sports can be a powerful tool for wellbeing, but only when participation feels safe and inclusive. The pressures young athletes face—balancing academics and expectations—can weigh heavily. When stress or anxiety go unaddressed, sports can feel like another impossible demand. The initiative supports programs integrating mental health resources into athletics. The Skills Center in Tampa will use its funding to host a girls sports and empowerment festival, combining physical activity with mental health workshops for Black and Latina youth. Meanwhile, ZGiRLS will deliver sport psychology programming to help girls manage stress, anxiety, and family pressures during the holiday season.
  
• Transportation. For many girls, the challenge isn’t desire but logistics. Getting to practice is a barrier. Families without reliable transportation or parents working multiple jobs can’t always shuttle daughters across town. It’s a small obstacle with outsized consequences—often ending in quiet resignation. Fisk University, home to the first HBCU women’s gymnastics team, is working to overcome this hurdle.

Each factor might sound small in isolation, but together, they form a web of barriers pushing girls out of sports before they can realize their potential.

INNOVATION BEYOND THE GAME

In business, we talk endlessly about innovation. We laud breakthrough technologies and new markets. But what if innovation also meant tackling the overlooked barriers that keep people from participating in the first place?

That’s what these grantees are doing: rethinking how to support the game and the players. True innovation in women’s sports identifies overlooked pain points and designs solutions rooted in empathy and equity. They’re innovating at the most fundamental level.

The demand is massive. Gainbridge Assists Powered by Parity received over 380 applications this year—more than double last year’s total. Each $5,000 grant seems modest, but the ripple effects are significant. In 1974, Billie Jean King founded the Women’s Sports Foundation with the $5,000 check she received for being named the Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year by the Bob Hope Cavalcade of Sports. In 2024, the program helped more than 5,000 girls pursue their athletic and academic goals. With this year’s expanded funding, the reach will only grow.

THE PATH FORWARD

Just as the tech industry confronted its excuses about the so-called pipeline problem, we must confront ours in sports. We can no longer shrug and accept that girls “just drop out.” Not when we know the reasons, and not when the solutions are within reach.

Equity in women’s sports must be defined broadly. It’s not just about broadcasting more games or negotiating better contracts—though those remain crucial. It’s also about removing the silent, practical, and cultural barriers that quietly push girls out long before they reach elite levels.

King famously said, “You have to see it to be it.” But before girls can see themselves as champions, they must be given the chance to stay on the field, the court, the track, or the ice. That requires meeting them where they are, addressing their most pressing needs, and ensuring they know they belong.

Leela Srinivasan is CEO of Parity.

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