Dove and Nike launch ‘Body Confident Sport’ program

Dove and Nike unveiled on Tuesday the ‘Body Confident Sport’ program designed to boost body confidence and self-esteem among teenage girls participating in sports.

New research from the partnership reveals that 45% of teenage girls worldwide drop out of sports, a rate twice as high as their male counterparts. Low body confidence stands out as the primary driver behind this startling statistic.

In response to this challenge, the Body Confident Sport online coaching program was designed as a first-of-its-kind, scientifically-proven set of coaching tools to build body confidence in 11–17-year-old girls.

The program includes input from girls and coaches from 6 countries, including France, India, Japan, Mexico, the U.K., and the U.S, and the curriculum includes tools that were scientifically proven in clinical trials with more than 1,200 girls and are proven to improve girl’s self-esteem and body confidence.

It will be delivered through a global network of organizations in schools and sports clubs and aims to reach more than one million young people around the world. 

“Sports have the potential to make girls feel confident and strong, yet for so many, the judgment and criticism they face within the sports environment is damaging their confidence and limiting their self-belief,” said Alessandro Manfredi, chief marketing officer at Dove.

“We are proud to team up with a like-minded brand like Nike to take action towards a more equitable future for girls – on and off the field.”

The partnership between these two brands has been two years in the making and involved collaboration with experts, including the Centre for Appearance Research (CAR) and the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport. 

Vanessa Garcia-Brito, VP, chief social & community impact officer at Nike, Inc., added, “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. Together, we’re taking action to break barriers by providing coaches with the tools to empower girls with a lifetime of confidence. By shifting the conversation from what their bodies look like to what their bodies can do, so more girls can stay in sports and experience the benefits, we believe we’re creating the next generation of female leaders and changemakers who will move the world forward.”