As we blow the candle out on the campaign’s first birthday, 2.8 million 14-40 year old women say they have done some or more activity as a result of our campaign.
This Girl Can tells the unedited story of women who exercise and play sport - and celebrates the reality of cellulite, sweat and jiggling flesh.
A snapshot sample of 1,000 women were asked the physical activity they did, their attitudes to exercise and their awareness of the campaign. They reinforce the exciting Active People Survey results published in December, which revealed a surge in the number of women taking part in activity or sport.
Jennie Price, Sport England’s chief executive, says: “I’m very encouraged by these new figures, which back up the results we saw last month. They show This Girl Can is not just being talked about, but is also changing behaviour.
The job is far from done. With a gender gap of 1.73 million fewer women playing sport compared to men, we need to keep getting the message out there
Chief Executive, Sport England
"But the job is far from done. With a gender gap of 1.73 million fewer women playing sport compared to men, we need to keep getting the message out there that women come in all shapes and sizes and levels of ability, and they should all feel able to exercise and play sport."
The hard-hitting campaign doesn’t hold back in trying to encourage women to overcome their fears about exercise. "Sweating like a pig, feeling like a fox" and "I kick balls, deal with it" are just a couple of the mantras adopted in the efforts to close the gender gap.
Thrusting the spotlight on the barriers that prevent women from getting active, more than half a million women and girls have joined the ever-growing This Girl Can social media community and it has been talked about on social media every single day since the launch twelve months ago.
And it’s not just England or the UK where the campaign has had an impact. Across the globe, This Girl Can has sparked conversations in more than 110 countries worldwide.
"Initiatives such as Sport England's This Girl Can are helping to change behaviour and encourage more women and girls to participate in sport," says sports minister Tracey Crouch.
"These figures paint a promising picture but we need to build upon this foundation. That’s why Government launched a new strategy for sport last month to get more people active and secure a sporting future for us all."
Go to www.thisgirlcan.co.uk to search for an activity, read blogs from women who take part and be inspired.