PowerPoint Presentation · Title: PowerPoint Presentation Author: Danielle Jenner Created Date: 12/11/2012 10:31:44 AM

A Survey of Current Sailors

December, 2012 Ref: 2662a_FINAL

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

1.0 Background

2.0 The Questionnaire

3.0 Data Interpretation

4.0 Research Findings

Appendices:

Appendix 1 – The Questionnaire

Appendix 2 – Detailed Tables (including verbatim comments)

Appendix 3 - Research Design Considerations

December, 2012 Women and Girls in Sailing - A Survey of Current Sailors 2

Executive Summary Yachting Victoria’s Women and Girls in Sailing project surveyed both female sailors and non sailors on their participation, interests and perceptions on female sailing using an online survey tool.

This report presents findings from a survey of 424 current female sailors (results for non-sailors will be presented in a separate report).

The female sailors who responded to the survey were predominantly aged 40-59 years, engage in sailing at least once a month and engage mainly in racing or keelboat sailing.

The following presents some key survey results: 74% rated their club 7 or higher out of 10 in terms of being

female friendly

73% are interested in training options and 36% find female only training courses appealing

66% are interested in club roles

52% are involved in other sports

17% are aware of discrimination, 13% aware of bullying, and 11% aware of sexual harassment/ unwelcome attention against women in the sailing community in the last 2 years

Interest in training

The majority of sailors surveyed were interested in some form of training generally related to racing or sailing keelboats or dinghies. This was particularly the case among younger sailors who also more often indicated that they found female only training courses appealing. The appeal of female only training courses however was not really widespread.

Sailing enjoyment

Enjoyment being out on the water or outdoors were the main reasons behind sailing enjoyment, although the challenge/ skills involved and health/ exercise benefits were also key drawcards. The social aspects was a bigger drawcard among younger sailors. Along with greater promotion of the sport to females, increasing skills training opportunities, affordability and access to sailing mentors and coaching are likely to improve enjoyment of sailing in the future.

Interest in clubs roles

There was a good level of interest in club roles, with interest in the rescue boat or being a learn to sail instructor more appealing to younger sailors, and race management roles or serving on a committee more appealing to older sailors.


Executive Summary Female friendliness of clubs

There appeared to be quite positive perceptions of clubs being highly female friendly, as revealed by both high ratings and positive verbatim comments. Suggested ways to improve female friendliness further centred around trying to change some prevailing negative attitudes among male sailors, and working to increase female participation in sailing, leadership, and mentoring roles within the sailing community.

Bullying against women

Awareness of any discrimination, bullying or sexual harassment against women in the sailing community within the last 2 years was relatively low overall, with most sailors unaware. However it is important to note that this may or may not indicate that the incidence of discrimination, bullying or sexual harassment against women is low. Awareness does not necessarily reflect actual prevalence.

The majority of sailors also appeared to be unaware whether their club has a bullying/ harassment complaint procedure.

Sailor recommendations and suggestions

Many sailors would like to see greater promotion of sailing as a sport in general, and particularly to women in terms of highlighting some of the key benefits (i.e. fitness, social aspects, opportunities etc.) and addressing some common misconceptions (i.e. difficulty, variety on offer, male only etc.)

Many also had specific suggestions as to how to improve their club, how it can cater to a wider range of women and age groups, and how enduring negative attitudes towards women within the sailing the community can be addressed. A full list of these suggestions can be found at Appendix 2.


1.0 Background Yachting Victoria, supported by VicHealth, conducted research into female participation as part of their Women and Girls in Sailing project.

Two surveys were conducted with the following groups to gauge their current perceptions of sailing:

Female (current) sailors

Non-sailing females

The questionnaires were developed by Yachting Victoria and administered as online surveys using the “Survey Monkey” online tool.

Female sailors were approached to participate via email whereas non-sailing females were recruited to the survey via a referral process.

A total of 424 responded to the current sailor survey, whilst a total of 167 responded to the non-sailing survey.

Following completion of the surveys, the survey data was provided to Market Solutions, a market research organisation, for analysis and reporting.

This report presents the results from the Current Sailors survey.


2.0 The Questionnaire

Female (Current) Sailors

Demographics (e.g. age, frequency of sailing, types of sailing participate in, other sports involved in)

Key aspects of sailing enjoyed

Interest in training

Interest in yachting club volunteer work

Perceptions of own yachting club being female friendly and what the club can do to improve

Awareness of any bullying/ discrimination/ harassment against women in the sailing community

Recommendations for increasing female participation in sailing

December, 2012 Women and Girls in Sailing - A Survey of Current Sailors

The current sailors survey questionnaire contained a mix of closed and open ended questions and covered the following key themes:

A copy of the questionnaire can be found at Appendix 1.

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3.0 Data Interpretation For this survey, it is important to note that the design of the questionnaire and the method of survey delivery has had an effect on the way the data was collected and consequently how it should be interpreted.

Specifically, some questions were not answered by all respondents as an answer was not required in order to move onto the next question.

These respondents have been marked as “not answered”. The results to each question need to be carefully interpreted in light of the amount of non-response to each question.

Additionally, some questions did not provide an essential response category, which is the likely reason for the high proportion of non-response to these questions.

For example: Q.4 of the current sailors questionnaire asks: “Are you interested in training?” but did not provide an option to tick “No”. This question was answered by only 309 respondents out of the 423 who participated in the survey. It would seem then those who did not answer are likely not interested in training. Interpretation of the results to these questions must be considered in light of the high number of missing responses.

For further discussion on questionnaire design and online survey delivery, please refer to Appendix 3 on Research Design Considerations.


4.0 Research Findings 4.1 Sample Profile

Just over half (57%) of current sailors who responded to the survey were aged between 40 and 59 years of age. However around 1 in 3 were aged under 40 years.

The majority (80%) of current sailors who responded to the survey reported that they engage in sailing at least once a month, with around half reporting that they sail once a week or more often.

It is important to note that these results may not be representative of the female sailing community as a whole, just the people who responded to the survey. This key point should be kept this in mind when reviewing other results from the survey.

Further analysis identified sailors in the youngest age group (19 years or younger) are more likely to engage in sailing multiple times a week (30%) compared to their older counterparts.

Figure 1: Age Profile of Respondents

Q.1 Which category below indicates your age?


Figure 2: Sailing Frequency of Respondents

Q.2 How often do you sail?

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4.1 Sample Profile Continued

Respondents were also asked to indicate the types of sailing/ sailing activities they participate in, including any others not listed in the questionnaire. Results to this question are shown in Figure 3 opposite. Available response categories in the questionnaire are shown in light blue; whereas responses coded from “other – specify” comments are shown in dark blue.

Racing was by far the most common response, with this activity engaged in by 71% of sailors. Next most common was a type of sailing: keelboat (49%).

Off the beach, twilight, social or cruising were less popular activities, although each engaged in by around 1 in 3 sailors. Very few sailors reported engaging in other types of sailing such as trailer sailer, dinghy or multi-hulls.

Figure 3: Types of Sailing/ Sailing Activities

Q.3 What types of sailing do you participate in?


Further analysis identified participation in racing was extremely common across all age groups, with young people participating in this type of sailing on a more frequent basis. The frequency of participation in racing was also found to decline with age.

Off the beach sailing is clearly the domain of the youngest sailors (76%) and is participated in with varying frequency; whereas keelboat sailing was more common among older sailors and more likely to be engaged in multiple times a week.

Cruising was more likely to be participated in by those aged 40 and over with varying frequency, although a few times a month appeared to be most common.

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4.2 Interest in Training

Respondents were asked to indicate if they had any interest in training, with a range of training options listed.

Out of the 424 respondents surveyed, 309 or 73% indicated interest in one or more of the training options presented.

These sailors more often reported that they were interested in training related to keelboats or dinghies. In comparison, interest in training related to powerboats, becoming an instructor, coach or race official was less often reported.

Other types of training suggested by sailors that they were interesting in, as revealed by verbatim comments, included helming and racing tactics and rules

As an option to indicate disinterest was not offered, it can probably be assumed that the 115 or 27% of respondents who did not answer are not interested in training.

Further analysis revealed sailors in the youngest group of 19 years or under were much more likely to be interested in training (96%) compared with the oldest group aged 60 and over (49%). In fact interest in training appears to drastically decline with age.

As younger sailors typically sail multiple times a week, it is not surprising that frequent sailors are also more likely to be interested in training.

Another notable finding was that sailors aware of bullying against women in the sailing community were also more likely to be interested in training (84% vs. 72% for those unaware).


Figure 4: Interest in Training

Q.4 Are you interested in training?

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4.3 Interest in Female Only Training

Respondents were further asked if any of the listed training courses would be appealing to them if they were for females only.

Overall, 1 in 3 sailors or 36% indicated that such training courses would be appealing if they were for females only.

This number was higher for those aware of bullying and/or sexual harassment/ unwelcome attention against women in the sailing community in the last 2 years.

Sailors aged 19 or younger were much more likely to report that they would find female only training courses appealing (52%).

The bar chart to the right further shows the number of sailors that found each course appealing in terms of being for females only. Once again, keelboat related training was most popular.


Figure 5: Interest in Training for Females Only

Q.5 If any of the above training courses were of interest and for females only, would that be appealing?

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Organised Sports - 37%

Running - 16%

Swimming – 16%

Cycling/Mountain Bike Riding – 16%

Snow Sports – 15%

Gym – 13%

4.4 Involvement in Other Sports

Overall, it would appear 52% or 1 in 2 sailors are also involved in other sports. These sailors more often reported being involved in organised sports such as tennis, netball, golf, basketball or volleyball.

Running, swimming and cycling were also popular sports sailors are involved in.

The frequency of participation appeared to vary depending on the sport. Most who participate in other sports also indicated that they engaged in at least one other sport multiple times a week.

As an option to indicate non involvement in other sports was not offered, it can probably be assumed that the 38% of respondents who did not answer are not involved in other sports.

Further analysis revealed sailors in the youngest and oldest age groups were more likely to report involvement in other sports and involvement on a frequent basis.


Figure 6: Involvement in Other Sports

Q.6 Are you currently involved in any other sports? Please list names and frequency.

Note: Multiple responses accepted, results add to more than 100% Base: Involved in other sports (n=220)

TOP 6 SPORTS

FREQUENCY 46% =

multiple times a week

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4.5 Sailing Enjoyment

Enjoyment of sailing was found to be predominantly related to just being out on the water (93%) or the outdoors (82%).

The challenge and skill required were also key enjoyment factors as was health/ exercise.

Whilst social aspects were commonly cited reasons, in comparison, they were less likely to be reasons behind enjoyment of sailing.

Other aspects recorded in verbatim comments included:

Team work

Friends

The chance to travel/ explore

Strategy/ tactics

Relaxation

Further analysis revealed the sense of freedom and the social possibilities were more likely to be reasons sailors aged 19 or younger enjoy sailing; whereas for older sailors being outdoors was more often cited as a reason for enjoyment.


Figure 7: Reasons Behind Sailing Enjoyment

Q.7 What do you enjoy about sailing?

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Sailing Enjoyment continued…

Respondents were asked in an open-ended answer style question if there were any changes that they could think of to enhance their participation in sailing. A total of 54% offered suggestions.

Figure 8 shows the main themes comments related to along with some example comments. A full list of comments can be found in the Detailed Tables attached at Appendix 2.


Figure 8: Enhancing Sailing Participation – Key Reasons

Q.8 What changes could be made to enhance your participation in sailing, if any?

• “More training that breaks things down to the basics.”

• “More skills and tactics training sessions.”

• “Intermediate to advanced adult sail training.”

More skills training and experience

• “A proactive approach by my club, club captain, and others in leadership roles to approach, encourage and assist in organising female members to participate in crews – not only for women’s regattas but other racing as well. From my experience, at the moment this happens on a fairly ad-hoc basis...”

Greater promotion of female sailors

• “Cheaper crew memberships at the larger yacht clubs.”

• “Price – making it easy and available to learn the sport.”

• “More subsidies for coaching programs for women who are no longer youth.”

Greater affordability

• “Better access to volunteer experts.”

• “Easier access to coaching – not to be an Olympic champion, just a better sailor.”

• “Having a mentor to sail with and commence family evening events in the summer.”

Greater access to sailing

mentors and coaching

Comments typically related to improving skills training and experience, followed by greater promotion of female sailors. A number of comments also related to improving affordability and access to sailing mentors and coaching.

Other suggestions made to enhance sailing participation included:

More respect/ open mindedness towards female sailors

Childcare provision

Greater promotion of sailing in general

More women’s competitions/ events

More inclusive environment

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4.6 Interest in Club Roles

Respondents were asked to indicate if they were interested in any of the listed yacht/ sailing club roles.

It would seem there is a good level of interest, with 66% indicating interest in one or more roles (as 34% did not answer, likely because they are not interested).

Almost 1 in 3 sailors expressed interest in being on a rescue boat. Serving on a committee was of interest to 1 in 4 sailors.

Interest in membership management or administrator roles was far less common in comparison.


Figure 9: Interest in Club Roles

Q.9 Most Yacht/ Sailing clubs are looking for both on water/ off water volunteers and some clubs provide skills training. Are you interested in any of the listed roles?

Further analysis identified interest in race management and serving on a committee was much higher among sailors aware of bullying, sexual harassment or discrimination against women in the sailing community. Additionally, those who sail at least once a week were also more likely to express interest in these roles.

The youngest group of sailors (19 years or younger) were notably much more likely to express interest in being on the rescue boat or being a learn to sail instructor than their older counterparts.

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4.7 Female Friendliness of Clubs

The majority of respondents (74%) rated their sailing club 7 or higher out of 10 in terms of being female friendly. Many also had suggestions in terms of what their club could do to be more female friendly.

The most common improvement / idea indicated was for clubs to have more females involved in club leadership. This idea was selected by 43% sailors surveyed and was the most popular response regardless of the club rating given. 1 in 4 females sailors indicated a more balanced gender mix in club membership would make their club more female friendly.

Many offered other suggestions which are discussed on the following page. Notably few (8%) felt that knowledge of harassment or discrimination policies would help make their club more female friendly.

Further analysis identified that sailors aged under 40 years were more likely to rate their club at the highest level (a rating of 10); as were those unaware of any bullying, harassment or discrimination against women in the sailing community.

The idea of more females involved in club leadership was more often indicated by older (60+ years) and frequent sailors; whereas more female races or a balanced gender mix was more often indicated by the youngest sailors.


Figure 10: Rating of Club Being Female Friendly

Q.10 On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rank your club with regards to being female friendly?

Figure 11: Suggestions for Clubs to be More Female Friendly

Q.11 What could your club do/ improve to be more female friendly?

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Female Friendliness of Clubs continued…

19% of sailors offered other suggestions or ways for clubs to become more female friendly. Most of the comments made were not actually suggestions but simply indicated that they thought their club was already female friendly and doing everything possible to be female friendly.

Those who did offer suggestions, generally did so around the following themes:

Work to change attitudes/ the attitudes and behaviour of men to be more female friendly/ accommodating

More encouragement of female participation in various type of sailing

Encourage / hire more female staff / committee members

Provide more learning/ mentoring opportunities specifically for women

Examples of comments that reflect these themes are shown below:

“Cheap Tuesday initiatives. Organising women only open sailing days. Crew register that encourages women participation. Club organised women only regular sailing introduction day and night sessions in the club.”

“Provide a creche! Also, areas of the clubhouse where small children are welcome. Women skipper races and other events that encourage male crews to give the women a chance.”

“Demonstrate a leadership role in enforcing bullying and harassment policies and support women in gaining respect and equality within the club.”

“Activity on the club's part to discourage the very prevalent 'mums in the canteen, dads on the crash boat' stereotype in junior off-the-beach racing.”

“Mentoring assistance to provide newer female sailors with guidance and opportunities for all round participation.”

Of note, a few sailors expressed sentiments related to clubs being too female oriented which they felt was counterproductive:

“Female only races only further segregate. Focus needs to be placed on positive advancement and integration.”

“Please stop promoting female keelboat racing, it works against promoting diversity of gender.”

“I think its important for women to mix with men in a sailing environment. To develop an ‘us and them’ mentality isn't good for the sport.”


4.8 Bullying Against Women

Overall, most sailors surveyed reported that they were not aware of any discrimination, bullying or sexual harassment against women in the sailing community in the last two years.

However almost 1 in 5 was aware of some sort of discrimination, and around 1 in 10 were aware of bullying and/or sexual harassment respectively.

A similar proportion (15%) reported that their club currently has a bullying / harassment complaint procedure in place, whilst the majority of sailors surveyed did not know if their club had such a procedure or not suggesting if such procedures do exist, they have not been well communicated to club members.

Further analysis revealed those who sail most frequently (i.e. multiple times a week) were more likely to report that they are aware of either discrimination, bullying or sexual harassment against women in the sailing community.


Figure 12: Awareness of Bullying, Sexual Harassment or Discrimination Against Women in the Sailing Community

Q.12/ 13/ 14 Are you aware of any bullying / sexual harassment or unwelcome attention/ discrimination against women in the sailing community in the last 2 years?

Figure 13: Awareness of Club Bullying/ Harassment Complaint Procedure

Q15 Does your club currently have a bullying/ harassment complaint procedure?

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4.9 Recommendations

Q.16 Do you have any recommendations about increasing female participation in sailing?

Just under half (47%) provided comments in response to the above question.

Many would like to see greater promotion of sailing generally and to women specifically in terms of highlighting the following positives:

Fitness benefits Openness to all ages/ ability levels Easy to learn Female friendly Does not have to be competitive No need to fear the water Social aspects Travel aspects/ opportunities Family oriented

Comments also typically focussed on more respect and open mindedness towards female sailors and targeting youth female participation.

A summary of comments has been provided on the right but a full list of comments can be found in the Detailed Tables at Appendix 2.

Summary comments “What I did not realise when I started was that it is a sport that caters for all fitness levels, ages and abilities but that it also provides opportunities to be very physically challenging at times, which I really enjoy. It also certainly challenged my view of it being boring (like golf and cricket!?!) and elitist. Addressing these misconceptions, assuming other women share my original views, would be a good start to encourage women to look into the sport.” “Have someone in the club advocating for more female participation in sailing and social events to encourage and assist this particular group. A female leader who could work with other areas of the club systems to ensure females are catered for and included in the whole club experience and break down some of the barriers for them.” “Good female role models and better balance of club roles. The women dominating the canteen work and organising all the social events is not encouraging for young up and coming females or for parents trying to negate gender stereotyping for their girls. [However] a total focus on competitive sailing can be intimidating and alienating, so the canteen work can be a better option for the women. How about some fun events to include them and let the boys make the sandwiches and sell the pies? Shorter events is also a suggestion. Some women have too many things to do to spend a whole day every weekend at the club. The club racing calendar can seem like a huge commitment in time.” “Getting schools more involved. Girls open days. Hand outs about the club through shopping centres.” “Include primary or secondary school outdoor ed programs which have high young female involvement. If people in general realise that sailing is not necessarily just a sport for the wealthy there will be more access for a greater number of community members.” “Getting the men to accept that woman also enjoy sailing and have a right to do so. I find that men with less experience are inclined to think they know better and try to take over.” “More encouragement for women to sail their own boats and be skipper - too many women are crew but not given encouragement to helm.”


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PowerPoint Presentation · Title: PowerPoint Presentation Author: Danielle Jenner Created Date: 12/11/2012 10:31:44 AM