Dove and Nike tackle the body confidence of girls in sports with new programme

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Personal care cosmetics brand Dove has partnered with sportwear company Nike to help build the body confidence of girls aged 11 to 17 while empowering coaches and athletes around the world to celebrate the things active bodies can do.

According to research by Dove, low body confidence is the number one reason many girls quit sports. It found that 48% of girls dropping out from sports were told they don't have the right body for sports, with 56% being objectified or judged on their physical appearance.

51% of girls dropping out were told that they are not good enough. Yet girls understand the benefits of sport, with 69% saying they would be more body confident if they had stayed in sport for longer.

This is why the companies came up with this online coaching programme, titled ‘Body Coach by Dove'.

This scientifically proven set of coaching tools was developed over a two-year partnership with Nike, world-renowned academic experts at the Centre for Appearance Research and the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport.

Don't miss: Dove and LinkedIn team up to support ending race-based hair discrimination in workplace

The research included input from girls and coaches from six countries, including France, India, Japan, Mexico, the U.K. and the U.S. ‘Body Confident Sport’ includes coaching steps that were scientifically proven to improve self-esteem and body confidence in clinical trials with more than 1,200 girls.

The online programme is proven to reduce self-objectification and increase body-esteem and will be delivered through a global network of organisations in schools and sports clubs.

It builds on Nike's and Dove's commitments to support girls and aims to reach more than one million young people around the world.

“Sports has the potential to make girls feel confident and strong, yet for so many, the judgement and criticism they face within the sports environment is damaging their confidence and limiting their self-belief. We are proud to team up with Nike to take action towards a more equitable future for girls,” said Alessandro Manfredi, chief marketing officer of Dove.

"Globally, girls face complex cultural and social barriers, and they also enter sports later and drop out of sports earlier. Our partnership with Dove, and unique focus on coaching through body confidence, aims to change that," said Vanessa Garcia-Brito, VP and chief social and community impact officer of Nike, Inc. "By shifting the conversation from what their bodies look like to what their bodies can do, we believe we're creating the next generation of female leaders and changemakers who will move the world forward."

Body Confident Sport aims to reach one million young people around the world to improve their body confidence.

Working in partnership with Dove, Venus Williams, tennis champion and entrepreneur said: "In sports, girls often face a tremendous amount of pressure, not just around performance and abilities, but also because of unrealistic expectations around their appearances. I am excited to be working with Dove on this initiative to help nurture girls' self-belief and confidence, foster a positive environment, and shift the conversation from appearance to capability."

"Coaches and athletes alike have a collective responsibility to create inclusive spaces and positive experiences that give all girls an opportunity to discover the power of sports. This is why I'm proud to team up with Nike to support Body Confident Sport, says gold medal olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez.

Dove also recently took a bold stand against social media platform TikTok for its filer that distorts real beauty.

Unilever’s Dove called on its global community to #TurnYourBack to the trending bold glamour filter that is well known on TikTok. As the filter sweeps social channels with content creators calling out its dangers, Dove wants consumers to join the brand to take a stand as part of its ongoing commitment to #NoDigitalDistortion in any of its advertising or marketing.

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