Racialized Women in Sport in Canada: A Scoping Review.

Abstract

This scoping literature review examines: What literature exists about the sport and physical activity experiences of racialized cis and trans women, adolescents, and girls in Canada? English language peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and gray literature published January 1, 2000, up to May 31, 2020, were examined. The databases used were SPORTDiscus via EBSCO, Sociological Abstracts, Sport Medicine and Education Index, and Google Scholar. The 42 studies and 15 gray literatures found included 1430 participants explicitly specified as racialized women/girl participants. There was a paucity of literature on the topic overall with none (n = 0) focused on experiences of racialized trans women. The limited research notes some successful programs that address racialized women's needs. However, the research also shows widespread experiences of discrimination against women based on racial group and language and limited access to culturally relevant or welcoming sporting opportunities, such as women-only programs and spaces. Much more research should be done to disaggregate "immigrants" into specific racial and ethnic groups, attend to intersectional identities and barriers, understand a wide range of involvement (eg,including coaching, high performance sport, recreation, exercise, university sport, mentorship programs), document racism and White privilege, and describe the joys of participation in sport for racialized women.