At GM Moving, we believe everyone should have the opportunity to move more in a way that works for them. Yet women and girls remain less active than men and boys, and we are committed to changing that.
Our partnerships for progress
For the past 18 months, Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region have been working together to help more women and girls feel able to enjoy being active safely, in ways that suit their lives.
A year ago, the Mayors of both city regions signed the Brighton plus Helsinki Declaration, making Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region the first place-based signatories of this internationally recognised commitment to gender equity in sport and physical activity.
The Declaration, led by the International Working Group on Women and Sport, aims to create fairer and more inclusive opportunities for women and girls to be active.
What have we achieved together?
As Active Partnerships, GM Moving and Merseyside Sport have worked together to:
- Develop a shared Theory of Change, providing a clear framework for how we can create lasting change.
- Host two joint engagement events attended by more than 300 people, creating opportunities to learn, share ideas and build new partnerships.
- Develop shared messaging to help change how we talk about women and girls’ participation in physical activity.
- Present our learning at the International Women and Girls Summit 2026 in Birmingham. At the summit, Greater Manchester delivered a workshop titled Freedom to Move, showcasing what it takes to create safe, welcoming and inclusive spaces for women and girls. The session highlighted the importance of collaboration and whole-system approaches, featuring contributions from Eve Holt (GMCA), Greater Manchester Cycling Mayor Belinda Everett and Susannah Walker from In Her Place.
What has been happening across Greater Manchester?
Partners across Greater Manchester have been taking action to support more women and girls to move, play sport and be active.
Empower Her
Led by The FA and local partners, Empower Her aims to make football and physical activity more accessible for women and girls from under-represented communities. By transforming governance and the process for allocating the funding which put community voice and local insight at the centre of decision making it led to;
- More than £60,500 invested.
- 34 community-led projects supported.
- New opportunities created for participation, volunteering and leadership.
Moving in Madrasah
Krimmz received funding to support work in mosques to increase opportunities for girls to be active.
The programme has:
- Engaged 10 mosques.
- Upskilled more than 120 female teachers.
- Increased confidence to introduce movement and physical activity opportunities during Madrasah sessions.
Free gym memberships in Manchester
Manchester City Council’s Growth Programme has introduced free gym memberships for all 11 to 16-year-olds.
Since launching in May 2026:
- More than 5,000 young people have signed up.
- Girls have been one of the fastest-growing groups taking part.
- Additional activities for girls aged 11 to 16 are being delivered with community partners across the city.
Gender Audits
- StreetGames, GM Moving and Your Trust Rochdale developed a gender audit approach to support leisure centres to be more welcoming and inclusive for girls and young women. This model is now being explored in other areas, including Stockport.
Creating Safer Spaces
Partners continue to take action to improve women’s and girls’ safety and confidence in public spaces.
Recent work includes:
- Ongoing work through In Her Shoes and the Combined Authority’s women and girls’ safety programmes.
- Life Leisure Stockport becoming the first UK leisure centre to adopt the Ask Angela scheme.
- Sharing Greater Manchester’s learning at national events, including the Active Travel England Conference.
Northern Grit: Sporting Glory 2026
- Manchester Active’s Northern Grit event celebrated women’s sport while raising £35,000 for seven charity foundations across Manchester.
- Bringing together leaders from sport, business, education and the voluntary sector, the event showcased the power of collaboration to create more opportunities for women and girls through sport.
National influence
The legacy of Greater Manchester’s Right to the Streets approach continues to grow, with our whole-system learning being shared nationally and internationally.
What’s Next?
GM Moving remains committed to supporting women and girls across Greater Manchester by focusing on three key areas:
Amplify
We will continue to celebrate and share stories that highlight both the challenges women and girls face and the positive action taking place across Greater Manchester. The more visible active women and girls become, the more normalised participation becomes.
Connect
We will continue bringing partners together to share learning, build collaborations and avoid duplication, helping us achieve greater impact collectively.
Change the narrative
The way we talk about women and girls matters. We will continue promoting positive, strengths-based messaging that presents active women and girls as the norm, while encouraging partners across Greater Manchester and beyond to do the same. Working alongside Liverpool City Region will continue to help us test ideas, share learning and move towards our shared vision of more women and girls being active, feeling safe and benefiting from joined-up action.
Get Involved
Everyone has a role to play in helping women and girls across Greater Manchester move more.
You can:
- Sign up to the Women and Girls monthly update for the latest news, events and opportunities.
- Make a pledge to support this work and join the growing network of partners committed to change.
- Share your own stories and examples of how you’re helping women and girls be active, either on LinkedIn or through a news story on the GM Moving website.
Together, we can create a Greater Manchester where more women and girls feel safe, welcome and confident to be active in ways that work for them.
