As the deputy convener of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, I am pleased to close this important debate on the committee’s behalf. As we have heard, the inquiry pinpointed a range of persistent barriers to female participation in sport and physical activity that need to be broken down. The committee’s report made important recommendations about how to achieve that. I am grateful for all the contributions to the debate and for the entire effort to build such a purposeful inquiry.

At the outset, the committee’s convener—the member for Rutherglen—helpfully set out the background to the inquiry and its purpose. The inquiry confirmed—as has been reinforced by many of the speeches that we have heard—that the root cause of the significant gender gap in participation in sport and physical activity lies in girls’ experiences during adolescence. As evidence that was submitted to the inquiry powerfully demonstrated, for too many teenage girls negative experiences of physical education in schools undermine their confidence and discourage them from participating in sport and physical activity for many years afterwards. The gender gap at that age continues for women and the rate is not surpassed by men until they are in their late 40s. It is really worrying that that extraordinary gap has emerged.

To tackle the issue at its root cause, our first priority must be to give teenage girls a more positive experience of physical education in schools, in order to make them feel welcome, included and positively supported. That extends to membership of sports clubs. We heard from one of the Conservative members for South Scotland—Mr Whittle—that male membership of sports clubs is three times greater than female membership of sports clubs. That is a significant difference. Indeed, that difference extends to participation in sport in youth clubs, as the member for Kirkcaldy mentioned in relation to his role as a scout leader. The issue transcends not just school environments; it applies to adjacent sports clubs and youth societies, as well.

As many members have said this afternoon—including the member for Cunninghame South, whom I welcome as a new member to the committee and commend for her valuable contribution to the debate—that means improving education around menstruation and managing periods and how they can affect teenage girls’ participation in sport and physical activity.

It also means tackling negative and misogynistic attitudes, and fostering a culture of inclusion and respect, as was mentioned by the Labour spokesman, Mr Bibby, who is one of the members for West Scotland, and by the member for North East Fife, who spoke about his experiences in his constituency.

Ms Mochan, who is one of the South Scotland members, spoke very powerfully about her experience of how young constituents are dealing with terrible attitudes in their school environment and how that has affected them. We have heard of no more powerful experiences than those of the young people who are witnessing that today. It was pretty shocking to hear about those persistent attitudes.

If the experience of teenage girls is a root cause of lower rates of female participation, the gender gap—as we have heard today—is sustained into adulthood by many other factors. Those include lack of knowledge and support in respect of a range of women’s health conditions, from pregnancy to menopause and from urinary incontinence to endometriosis; lack of positive role models and of women in leadership roles; the additional barriers that are created by childcare and other caring responsibilities; and a failure to design facilities and infrastructure in ways that make female users feel safe.

This afternoon, we heard powerful examples from the member for North East Fife about school facilities at Madras college being casually closed down in a way that impacted on one gender. We also heard from Dr Gulhane, who is one of the Conservative members for Glasgow, about the scandalous situation at the Glasgow national hockey centre at Glasgow Green. The situation will squander the legacy of the 2014 Commonwealth games, if we are not careful.

As part of any effective strategy to boost rates of female participation in sport and physical activity, funding is a crucial lever. The Scottish Government’s commitment to increasing investment in sport and active living is welcome, but we will miss an important opportunity if we do not seek to carefully target a significant amount of that money at encouraging girls and women to take part in sport at a younger age, and to live active lives throughout their growth.

We have also heard that many girls and women face intersecting barriers to participation in sport and physical activity. That might be due to disability, or they might come from a minority ethnic or deprived socioeconomic background, or might be part of the LGBTQ+ community.

As is set out in our committee’s report, wider use of equality impact assessments, inclusive imagery and messaging, the promotion of positive role models and targeted investment all have roles to play in increasing rates of participation in sport and physical activity among girls and women who face those intersecting barriers to their participation. We simply cannot tolerate panicked end-of-year budgetary decisions that discard those important considerations, as was powerfully mentioned by one of the members for South Scotland, Ms Harper.

As we have also heard this afternoon, although there has been real progress in relation to the status and profile of elite women’s sport in recent years, much more has still to be done. The committee’s report has made some practical suggestions as to how that might be achieved, including in relation to funding of and pay for professional athletes. We heard some examples of positive progress in some sport disciplines, including golf, cricket and football, but many other sports have to make progress.

We have also heard about clothing and equipment. The member for Glasgow Kelvin made an interesting observation about the experience of a century ago and the interesting sporting attire that women were expected to wear in the 19th century. It is important to note that the origin of organised sport began in the late industrial age.

To the present day, we still carry the cultural norms and baggage from the expectations of gender-based roles in Victorian society. It is important to reflect that the significant progress that we have made is clearly not good enough, so we must redouble our efforts.

The member for North East Fife made an interesting point about the changes in the coverage of sport. That is important when we consider health conditions, women who are considering pregnancy or who might be pregnant, and the general zero-tolerance approach to tackling the sexism and abuse that are directed at women in elite sport.