Transgender Inclusion in Community Sport Toolkit
Ngā Wāhine Hākinakina o Aotearoa | Women in Sport Aotearoa (WISPA), in partnership with InsideOUT Kōaro and with funding from the Clare Foundation, has launched the Transgender Inclusion in Community Sport Toolkit – a practical, evidence-based resource to help sports organisations across Aotearoa create welcoming spaces for transgender, non-binary and gender diverse people.
The Toolkit is a free resource for national, regional and local sports organisations, clubs, teams and competitions. It was codesigned by WISPA and InsideOUT Kōaro, drawing on research, lived experience and case studies from the Aotearoa sport sector.
Its purpose is simple – to help clubs and organisations take a practical, inclusive approach so that everyone, regardless of gender, can take part in and benefit from community sport.
The need is clear. In Aotearoa, two in five trans people have avoided sports teams or clubs out of fear of mistreatment, and only 14 percent of transgender and non-binary people had taken part in organised physical activity in the past four weeks, compared with 26 percent of the general population.
“The Toolkit is a practical, positive resource to help clubs and organisations include transgender, non-binary and gender diverse people in community sport,” says Dr Alida Shanks, whose PhD is in gender equity in community sport in Aotearoa.
“We wanted to create something anyone could pick up and use – whether they're a national body developing an inclusive policy, or a local club wanting to know the steps to take so that all their members feel like they belong.”
Grounded in evidence and built for everyday use, the Toolkit is organised around five pou (pillars): inclusion, wellbeing and safety, privacy and dignity, listening and responding, and learning and knowledge. For each, it offers plain-language guidance, practical actions and real case studies from the sector, along with a ready-to-use inclusion policy template, an inclusive language guide, and answers to common questions about fairness and safety.
As Aotearoa New Zealand’s champion for gender equity in sport and physical activity, WISPA developed the Toolkit to help clubs and organisations create environments where everyone can fully participate, contributing to the collective wellbeing of our communities.
The Toolkit is available now on InsideOUT Kōaro’s website and WISPA’s Insight Hub, as part of a growing library of resources supporting sporting organisations and the transgender community. WISPA, InsideOUT Kōaro and partner organisations will continue supporting the sector to put it into practice.
To download the digital flip book version, click here (Good for on your phone!)
To download the full PDF, click here.
For more information or any queries, please contact Alida or Judy at info@womeninsport.org.nz
