Launched this month, the initiative comes against a stubborn backdrop. Sport England’s latest Active Lives Adult Survey shows there are around half a million fewer active women than men in England, while only 14% of women on lower incomes achieve the recommended 150-plus minutes of physical activity each week.

Making movement fit real life

Rather than asking women to restructure their lives around exercise, Move for 10 turns that proposition around. Walking around the block, dancing in the kitchen, playing with children, yoga, cycling or a short home workout all count. The campaign deliberately avoids prescribing what activity should look like: ten minutes, at any pace and in whatever way works for the individual.

Kate Dale, Director of Marketing at Sport England, said the approach is designed to challenge the idea that exercise needs to be a formal workout:

“For too long, women have been made to feel that being active only counts if they can find the time for a ‘proper’ workout. Move for 10 challenges that idea. We know that for many women, especially those from underrepresented groups, the barriers to being active are complex. That’s why instead of asking them to find more time they simply don’t have, we’ve designed a challenge that works around real life. 10 minutes of movement is achievable, flexible and, crucially, it can be the gateway to a more active lifestyle. We want to take the pressure off and help more women experience how good movement can make them feel.”

Small steps towards lasting change

The significance of Move for 10 is therefore less about the number itself and more about behaviour change. The campaign provides free online and downloadable trackers, encouraging participants not only to record what they have done but also reflect on how movement made them feel.

Media medic Dr Zoe Williams, who is supporting This Girl Can’s latest initiative, reinforces that emphasis on building achievable habits:

“One of the biggest misconceptions I see as a doctor is that physical activity only counts if it’s intense, sweaty or takes up a big chunk of your day. The reality is every kind of movement counts – what’s important is getting it done. The best way to incorporate movement into your day is to make it habitual, so you don’t even have to think about it – and that’s exactly what Move for 10 can do for you. Just 10 minutes of movement are enough to unlock the benefits women tell us matter most: better mood, improved sleep, more energy, and a boost in confidence.”

A campaign that continues to evolve

This Girl Can has been challenging the gender activity gap since 2015, initially confronting fear of judgement before expanding its focus to confidence, inequality, accessibility, safety and enjoyment. Its more recent This Girl Can With You phase has concentrated on making activity Social, Suitable, Self-Affirming and Safe.

Move for 10 feels like a natural continuation of that evolution. Rather than telling women they need to exercise more, it asks what sport and physical activity can do differently to make participation easier.

That approach also forms part of a much broader picture at Sport England. The organisation is currently ranked in the Global Top 50 of the Global Sustainable Sport SPI Index, achieving a C+ – Purpose Advanced rating, reflecting its wider work across sustainability, purpose and impact.

If the sector wants to close a gender activity gap that has proved remarkably persistent, success may begin not with asking people to do more, but with making the first ten minutes easier to achieve.