Women face different risks, challenges, and barriers to exercise than men do. This month’s topic is not about hating on men, but it is about recognising that women have different needs, that they’re half the population, and as such, understanding their needs will be better for business, and for your female clients.

Number 1 – So they can speak.

Now before I get into this, I want to reiterate that what I am about to say has actual research, and while it may be uncomfortable to hear, it’s not about having a go at anyone. I’ll pop the references in the comments, and you can make of them what you will!

Men speak twice as much as women, and interrupt women at three times the rate women interrupt men.

There are also gendered speaking patterns that are conditioned into girls and boys from a young age, which means women are more tentative and measured in their use of words.

In group environments, such as a gym environment, women speak up to 75% less than men, and when they do speak, they’re often not “heard” or taken seriously.

Historically, women have had difficulty explaining their symptoms to medical professionals because of modesty barriers, and even when successful, have had their concerns dismissed or ignored. While the fitness industry is not the medical industry, generational conditioning can mean that some women won’t fully report their symptoms to their trainers, particularly if their trainer is male. In turn, many of us having been shaped by the same culture, may view our female client’s complains as anxiety or preciousness before taking them seriously.

What this means is, if you want your female clients to perform their best, communicate effectively, and be understood, they need to be in a space that either has more women than men, or is women-only. 

In women’s only spaces, women speak the same number of words, they’re more likely to be taken seriously, and they generally are better at “taking turns” in speaking, collaborating, and listening to the people around them. In the medical industry, female doctors have better health outcomes, including mortality (this means fewer people die on a woman’s watch). Until mixed gender environments have equal outcomes for women, the women will continue needing women’s only spaces to get the best health outcomes.

Also a reminder that if you like this then join my Skool. I’ve got live Q&A’s and free resources for you, as well as our Women’s Health Mentorship where we dive deeper into these issues and look at real client’s experiences.

Number 2 – So They Can Be Heard 

Women have different bodies and life experiences to men, and much of the time, those bodies and experiences fall into the “taboo” category. 

If women want to share their experience of their period, or menopause, for example, they often can’t or don’t feel comfortable in mixed gender spaces. It’s the difference between talking about their body with a man literally squirming in front of them, versus another woman saying “I have that too” and relating.

There’s not much about a man’s body and life experience that’s taboo to talk about in public. Off the top of my head I’m thinking of illegal topics, and sexual dysfunction, and that’s it. For women, a lot of our normal functions fall into this category, as well as our dysfunctions. We also are statistically more likely to experience disease and dysfunction, so women are arguably more likely to want or need to talk about them.

Being with a group of women, and having our experiences validated by each other, is a profound experience when we spend much of our lives as the “other”, the “exception”, and the “outlier” in other environments.

Number 3 – To Feel Safe

Now, before I get into this, I want to clarify the difference between being safe and feeling safe. Any number of gyms can claim that women are safe in their spaces, and most likely they’ll be telling the truth, however if a woman doesn’t feel safe, then the facts don’t really matter.

The best analogy I have to describe the feeling is to imagine that you’ve been locked in a room full of snakes or spiders. Not all of them are venomous. In fact, only one out of the hundreds in the room is. So you’re most likely safe, as long as you don’t aggravate it in any way. Do you feel safe?

1 in 3 women experience gender based violence. Gender based violence are harmful acts directed at an individual that are solely motivated by that person’s gender, or perceived gender. The term gender-based violence encompasses sexual, physical, mental and economic harm inflicted in public or in private. It also includes threats of violence, coercion and manipulation. If you train 10 women this week, at least three of them will have experienced gender based violence, and another five of them have experienced some form of gender discrimination. 

Examples of how this shows up in a gym environment are:

• Being filmed without consent – there are multiple news stories by women who have experienced this
• Being body shamed – There’s a number of overweight athletes that i follow that deal with this on a daily basis, in person and online
• Sexual Harassment – I have a client who was physically harassed in the gym, and she won’t come inside if there’s a man training when she is. However harassment also includes the above behaviours, or even uninvited compliments on someone’s body.

For women, the fear of the above experiences will be enough to stop them exercising. Many women feel judged on their appearance and performance, and whether or not they are being judged is moot – they feel it, they won’t train.

Having women’s only spaces in your gym, or women’s only training times, removes many of these barriers and fears for potential female clients. It’s good for your business, it’s good for their nervous systems, and it’s an opportunity for women to exercise without fear.

So before I finish this series on Why Women Need Women’s Only Spaces, I have some more clarification…

The comments I am receiving seem to be missing the point. 

Many women say they train in mixed gender gyms and feel perfectly safe, and my response is – that’s privilege. If one in three women have experienced gendered violence, that means two in three haven’t. There’s nothing special about someone who hasn’t experienced gendered violence except luck. There’s no skill involved in avoiding gendered violence. 

So if you are one of the two in three, that is bloody awesome, but you cannot rightly judge someone else who has experienced it. Just because you are comfortable in your mixed gender space, doesn’t mean all women SHOULD be.

Also, I will repeat, that I am not saying ALL spaces should be women’s only, I am saying we need some spaces that are just for us, and I’ve been going through my reasons one by one.

So my final reason for why women need women’s only spaces, actually there are three:

1. To boost performance – women perform better without an audience.
   
   Generally, women have been conditioned to believe that their purpose is to be looked at, to be young and pleasant to look at, by men. For many women (note that I did not say ALL women), this makes a gym environment inaccessible, as they cannot bear to be looked at, or they’re uncomfortable with their body and appearance.
   
   Couple this with the fact we perform better when NOT being looked at, by an audience of any gender, and you can see why gyms can become uncomfortable places, even in the most inclusive environments. For many women, small, women’s only spaces provide a solution. For others, exercising at home alone is the solution.

2. For cultural and religious purposes – to be inclusive. There are lots of religions and cultures where it is inappropriate for women to be in the company of men. Not just Islam, some Christian, Jewish, and Hindu belief systems also segregate women and men (and not just them either!!).

3. To reduce stress – women’s cortisol levels decrease after talking to other women.
   
   This is often framed as “complaining” or “gossiping”, but in actual fact it’s nervous system regulation. Creating opportunities for women to talk to other women reduces their cortisol, gives them a positivity boost, and enables them to go about their day in a more healthy hormonal state.

Women face different risks, challenges, and barriers to exercise than men do. This month’s topic is about recognising that women have different needs, that they’re half the population, and as such, understanding their needs will be better for business and for your female clients.

My name is Clare Hozack, I am a Strength and Conditioning Coach, a Master Personal Trainer, an ex-athlete and NSWIS coach, and I have been specialising in women for over 25 years. This webinar will be held at 12pm Mondays, Australian Eastern Time, and the recording sent to you after the event.

Got a question? DM me or comment on any of my posts and i will research the sh*t out of it then answer LIVE on Monday at 12pm AEST!