Empowering Women through Sports: Pathways to Achieve SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities)

Abstract

The current study will look into how far sports can be used as a transformational tool to address gender equality and reduce inequalities, as a part of SDGs 5 and 10. Precisely, the research assesses the impact of Access to Sports Opportunities (ASO) and Social Support and Inclusion (SSI) on Women Socio- Economic Empowerment (WSE), Self-Empowerment (SE) is the mediating construct, and Institutional Policy Support (IPS) is the moderating variable. The quantitative data was collected through a structured survey that was delivered to 309 female respondents living in Lahore, Pakistan, who represent both university and community-based athletes. The analysis that was conducted using the SmartPLS 4.0 showed that ASO and SSI contribute positively to WSE indirectly and directly via SE. Additionally, IPS enhanced the mediating role of SE, which emphasizes the central role of institutional structures and enabling policy in enabling gender empowerment in sports. The results suggest that the combination of sport access in women, empowerment, and inclusive policies enables that women get confident, become leaders, and economic agents. This study augments the theoretical discussion on empowerment by bringing together Social Role Theory and Empowerment Theory thus, placing sports as a multidimensional process of social inclusion and equality. Pragmatic implications suggest that policy-makers and schools and universities should give priority to gender-sensitive sports programs so as to ultimately empower women and bolster their social inclusion.