Women

At Oxford Brookes, we're committed to creating welcoming, supportive and inclusive opportunities that help more women enjoy the benefits of sport and physical activity. This area is open to all women, including trans women.

We recognise that women can experience a range of barriers to participation, including confidence, previous experiences, safety concerns, time pressures and body image. Through Together Active, we're working to better understand these barriers and create opportunities that help every woman feel confident, supported and able to get involved.

Some of the information and resources on this page also cover topics such as menstruation and menopause. These topics may also be relevant to some trans men, non-binary and gender-diverse people and we aim to ensure our information and support is inclusive of everyone who may benefit from it.

Whether you're completely new to exercise, returning after a break or already active, there's a place for you.

Opportunities

Campaigns & Initiatives

Through Together Active, we're committed to creating an environment where conversations about women's health are encouraged and where no one feels that menstruation or menopause should prevent them from being active.

Menstrual Equity

We believe that periods should never be a barrier to taking part in sport or physical activity.

As part of our commitment to menstrual equity, we provide free pads and tampons at the Centre for Sport & Active Wellness as part of the wider university menstrual equity campaign.

Free products are available in:

• The accessible toilet off Reception, near the climbing wall.

• The far-right cubicle in the women's toilets.

As Together Active develops, we'll continue to work with students and colleagues across the University to raise awareness, reduce stigma and develop evidence-based resources to support everyone who menstruates.

Menopause in the Workplace

We're committed to creating a supportive environment for everyone experiencing menopause and recognising the positive role physical activity can play in maintaining health and wellbeing.

As part of this commitment, we currently offer a free Menopause Body Conditioning class for Oxford Brookes staff every Thursday from 12.15pm–1pm in the Strength & Conditioning Suite at the Centre for Sport & Active Wellness. 

We'll continue to develop resources, share evidence-based information and explore further opportunities to support our university community.

Join the Menopause Fitness mailing list to reserve your place each week

Find out more about the University's Menopause in the Workplace campaign

Help Us Improve

We're always looking for ways to make sport and active wellness more accessible and Together Active is shaped by the ideas, experiences and feedback of our staff and students.

If you have suggestions for new initiatives, events or resources, or would like to help shape the future of women's participation at Oxford Brookes, we'd love to hear from you.

Students

Students can share their ideas by joining the Together Active Group, where members work in partnership with Sport & Active Wellness staff to identify barriers, influence decisions and help create a more welcoming, accessible and inclusive community.

Staff

Staff are encouraged to get in touch by emailing brookesactive@brookes.ac.uk if they'd like to share feedback or discuss ideas in more detail. We also work closely with the Wellbeing at Work Network, which provides a valuable opportunity to engage with staff, gather feedback and shape future initiatives.

Together, we can help make Oxford Brookes a place where everyone can move, succeed and belong.