The ninety-four CALD women who participated in the twelve focus groups for Stage Three identified a range of health and social reasons to participate in sport and recreation, and clearly understood the benefits of sport and recreation participation. However, the women perceived that others in their communities may not recognise the benefits and opportunities, identifying a need to advertise existing culturally appropriate opportunities to participate, and expand the provision of facilities and women-only activities.
For those whose diets changed after coming to Australia (including women from Africa, the Middle East and Japan), sport and recreation were particularly important for health reasons. These women faced a range of health risks and felt they needed to take particular care in managing their weight. Other perceived benefits of sport and recreation that can help engage CALD women included making new friends and maintaining cultural identity. Informal physical activities, such as walking, or participating in community activities with family and friends, along with physical recreation activities (like tai chi or fitness classes) were particularly important amongst the women. However, the importance of less formal activities must be understood in the context of the barriers to participating in organised sport that CALD women can face. These barriers, such as a lack of appropriate facilities, high costs, family responsibilities and a lack of transport, caused women to participate in informal contexts rather than in formal, organised sport and recreation activities.
Only a minority of women had experienced racial discrimination in sport and recreation. However, this presented a major barrier to those involved, causing them to reduce their level of participation, or change their chosen sports. Yet overwhelmingly, the women perceived sport and recreation in Australia to provide a level playing field, which could be accessed by all. Notwithstanding, the women identified a range of subtle barriers that could affect the participation of women from their cultural background. Some of these barriers related to socio-cultural factors, such as notions of female physicality and dress, beauty and body image (which made some women self-conscious and reluctant to participate) and gender roles and expectations (which compelled women to take primary responsibility for housework and child and family care, thereby decreasing their leisure time).
Women needing to comply with cultural or religious norms of modesty faced particular barriers relating to dress codes and inappropriate facilities. This was a particular issue for women from Muslim backgrounds in the study. Some of these women adapted their patterns of sport participation by choosing activities where women's privacy (including in change-rooms) could be ensured, or those where it was possible to comply with dress requirements without transgressing cultural norms. However, the women would overwhelmingly prefer access to female-only facilities over exercising in modest attire in mixed gender contexts, as adapted dress was seen as uncomfortable and potentially stigmatising. Importantly, some of the women also pointed out that women-only activities should not mean cultural segregation, and should be open to women from all different backgrounds.
Other barriers to CALD women 's access included poor English and a lack of transport, and some cultures also placed low priority on sport participation, which decreased some women's interest and exposure to sport and recreation activities. Resource barriers of time were particularly pronounced for women with children, while the costs of participating were identified across the groups. Health and age were also identified as reasons some women wouldn't participate, although these were largely perceived barriers, with some women believing, for example, they were too old to learn to swim or to take up another activity. Confidence and a perceived lack of skill were also identified as a barrier, with friends' attendance an important facilitator of CALD women's participation.
Indeed, a lack of access to low cost and culturally appropriate women-only facilities seemed to push CALD women into individual, informal activities like walking or exercising privately, or restricted them to activities performed with others in their kin group. Although private or informal sport and recreation activities may deliver health benefits to women, they are less likely to deliver social benefits, such making new friends, mixing with women from other cultures, and feeling included.
Strategies to support CALD women's participation included supporting and expanding culturally appropriate facilities, providing information about activities and facilities, and showing CALD women the range of opportunities to participate that do not require transgressing cultural requirements. The women also suggested addressing family related barriers through childcare at sporting venues and addressing financial barriers by subsidising costs for participants. Role modelling, promoting sporting activities as multicultural, and setting up opportunities were also identified. Some of the women felt that CALD women's participation in sport and recreation would only improve if women's perceptions of themselves as carers and child-bearers changed, and with support from men to free up women for leisure activities.