A first-of-its-kind all-island research consortium has been established to tackle the gender gap in sport and health science.
The cross-university research consortium, named míde, aims to understand and improve the health, wellbeing, participation and performance of girls and women in and through, sport and physical activity.
The consortium officially launched on Friday at the Women in Sport and Exercise Conference at Glasson Lake House, County Westmeath and was attended by over 180 academics, researchers and key opinion leaders. Attendees heard from leading Irish and international researchers, with keynotes from Professor Elizabeth Pike, Professor Anthony Hackney, Dr Patricia Jackman and former international rugby player for Ireland and Director with Sport Ireland, Nora Stapleton.
míde, derived from the old Irish word míd meaning middle or centre, consists of researchers from nine higher education institutions from across the country and is chaired by representatives from Technological University of the Shannon (TUS), Dublin City University (DCU), Ulster University and Atlantic Technological University (ATU).
Only 6% of research in sport and exercise science globally, focuses on women and girls, presenting a significant gender data gap. míde research aims to address this by taking a holistic view of the various factors in girls’ and women’s lives that may act as barriers when it comes to engagement in physical activity, sport and exercise across the lifespan, including at key stages such as puberty, pregnancy and menopause.
Speaking at the event Dr Aoife Lane, Lead of SHE Research Centre at TUS and Co-Chair of míde said, “With a growing commitment to women’s sport and health, reflected in dedicated strategies, policies, and initiatives, there is an urgent need to harness current research opportunities and shape the research agenda of the future in a coordinated, strategic, and impactful approach.
“míde represents an exciting and novel initiative for the academic community across the island. Members of the SHE Research Centre in TUS through Dr Niamh Ní Chéilleachair and Dr Emma Cowley, are at the forefront of this new consortium, working to develop collaborations and build projects that bring additional research funding and opportunities to TUS. Now is the time to unite and amplify our efforts, driving meaningful change for women and girls in, and through sport, exercise, and physical activity.”
Dr Brendan Egan, Head of School of Health and Human Performance at Dublin City University and Co-Chair of the consortium, commented,“The ambition of míde is to conduct world-leading research that addresses the many knowledge gaps that exist in research, policy and practice due to the historical lack of representation of females in areas concerning health and performance. A core principle is to build a critical mass of expertise and experience to deliver high quality, multisite research that positions us as world-leading in this domain.”
Co-chair Dr Denise Martin, Lecturer and Researcher in Sports Performance Analysis from Atlantic Technological University remarks on the importance of impact in míde: “We are very conscious of the link between research impact and how we disseminate and translate research to the people who matter – from policy makers to practitioners to women and girls interested in active, healthy lives. In ATU, along with other partners, we have started this work through the development of a research collective where stakeholders working with women in sport, exercise and physical activity are helping to shape research priorities on the island of Ireland.”
Co-Chair of the group and Senior Lecturer at the School of Sport at Ulster University, Dr Katie Liston explained, “Ulster University has a long history of championing the rights of women in sport and physical education, and members of our Sport and Exercise Sciences Research Institute are bringing their multidisciplinary expertise to míde. Together we will deepen north-south collaboration.”