Recognizing and Expanding Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Abstract

aaa Women and girls have traditionally been underrepresented in research conducted in sport and physical activity settings (Cowley et al., 2021; Forsyth & Roberts, 2019). In addition, recent research has documented a gender bias in the review process, where research conducted with females was less likely to be recommended for publication compared with research conducted with males, even though no differences were perceived in rigor (Murrar et al., 2021). These issues are certainly not new, and may have been recognized by Marlene Adrian, who founded the Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal (WSPAJ) in 1992. In her inaugural editorial, she noted her hope that WSPAJ would become “a stimulus for the advancement of knowledge and the facilitation of enhanced and increased opportunities for girls and women to enjoy and benefit from sports and other physical activities” (Ladda, 2014, p. 4), would have reviewers and an editorial board who embraced this mission, and would encourage international perspectives. The journal continues to serve this purpose. Authors share their work to advance the knowledge by exploring the benefits (e.g., Elbe et al., 2016; Roethlisberger et al., 2020) and disadvantages (e.g., Kerr et al., 2020) of sport and physical activity participation for women and girls, the barriers that limit their participation (e.g., Ayala et al., 2021; Roper, 2016), the programming needed to develop health and well-being (e.g., Adams & Gill, 2015; Sobrero et al., 2017) and enhance performance (e.g., Dow et al., 2019; Perko et al., 2015), and systemic issues that limit involvement at all organizational levels within sport and exercise organizations (e.g., Kane & LaVoi, 2018), to name just a few. The journal has also published scholarly work that has centered the experiences of women in sport and exercise across identities (e.g., Armstrong, 2007; Semerjian & Cohen, 2006; Welch et al., 2021), lifespan (e.g., Di Brezzo et al., 2002; Ryan, 2006), and culture (e.g., Nakamura, 2002; Rathanaswami et al., 2016) stemming from a variety of disciplinary perspectives and methodological approaches. The journal continues to encourage an international perspective and representation. For example, WSPAJ volume 29 (April and October 2021 issues) provides insight into the experiences of women from a variety of countries, and its authors are associated with institutions in the United States of America (32), United Kingdom (18), Australia (5), Poland (5), Canada (3), Ireland (1), Luxembourg (1), and New Zealand (1). Thus,WSPAJ, which has a majority of its editorial board and reviewers who are women and focus on work related to the mission, has continued to support scholars in advancing the understanding of women in sport and physical activity by publishing their work, recruiting quality reviewers and editorial board members committed to the work, highlighting conference proceedings in this area (e.g., Farnsworth et al., 2021; Forsyth et al., 2021), and sharing this work via social media (@WSPAJ). TheWSPAJ editorial board also honors quality work shared with the journal during a calendar year with the Diane Gill Paper of the Year Award (e.g., Voelker & Reel, 2020) and the Erin Reifsteck Student Paper of the Year Award (e.g., Vaccaro & Butryn, 2020).