Distribution of women and men practicing sports in Italy 2019

In 2019, walking, running, and jogging were the most practiced sport disciplines by Italian women and men. Indeed, approximately 45 percent of both male and female respondents claimed to either run, walk or do jogging as a sport. Conversely, a relevant gender gap was found for the category of soccer/soccer five-a-side. This sport was played by 12.5 percent of men and only by 2.5 percent of women involved in the research. However, roughly 13 percent of women interviewed said to be interested in trying soccer in the future.

The most practiced sport disciplines among women

Among the 22 disciplines considered in the study, fitness, gymnastics/aerobics, and yoga/Pilates were the only categories that recorded a higher rate of women practitioners rather than men in 2019. In the specific case of yoga and Pilates, most women showed an interest for these disciplines. They either practiced yoga in the past, never practiced it but were interested in giving it a try or were regularly doing yoga or Pilates as of the survey period.

The gender gap in the Olympic Summer Games Italian team

Overall, although the gender gap was still significant in several sport disciplines in Italy in 2019, there are signs that the situation is changing. For instance, the number of female athletes in the Olympic Summer Games Italian team peaked during the last Olympic Games in 2016.