Motherhood in the spotlight: Promoting women's equality in sport (MAMA)
What is the MAMA project?
The MAMA project addresses the significant challenges female athletes face in balancing their careers and motherhood, often facing discriminatory practices that jeopardise their sporting careers. Motherhood is a fundamental right, but structural barriers in sport force many women to choose between their careers and starting a family, perpetuating gender inequality.
Our goal is to promote gender equality by ensuring that female athletes receive the support they need during pregnancy and motherhood, as well as in the later stages of their careers, enabling them to fulfil their dual roles as athletes and mothers. We aim to raise awareness through authentic stories and collaborations with sports organisations and institutions, with the goal of promoting maternity-friendly practices and equal and sustainable career opportunities. We work to provide athletes with resources and networks, researching the impact of motherhood on athletes' career paths, and promoting collaboration between key stakeholders.
The aim of the project is to create lasting change by developing support structures, influencing practices and promoting an inclusive sporting environment for current and future generations of female athletes.
Mini Review Published
The MAMA project (Maternity on the Bench) has produced the first of a series of reports on issues facing female athletes who balance motherhood and sporting careers. The project, which is funded by the European Union, aims to promote gender equality by ensuring that female athletes receive the support they need during pregnancy and motherhood. Partners from across the EU are working to create lasting change by developing support structures, influencing policies and promoting an inclusive sporting environment.
The initial report explores the current scientific literature and identifies two broad themes. The first is the biopsychosocial challenge of becoming and being a mother-athlete. This concerns the practical management of training and competition loads and types at different stages of the reproductive lifecycle, as well as the immense life changes that come with parenthood. The second theme concerns the external factors that affect and influence decision making at different stages of athlete-motherhood. This includes policy and legislation to ensure minimal and fair career disruption, as well as social pressures and relationships with key stakeholders such as coaches, associations and teammates.
The report can be found here: https://doi.org/10.17011/jyureports/95
