The Lionesses beat Canada 2-1 to progress to the semi-finals of the World Cup, only the third England side to do so.
Coach Mark Sampson said his side were “history-makers”, having matched the achievement of the men’s 1966 and 1990 teams by reaching the last four of the tournament.
Barbara Keeley chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Women’s Sport and Fitness alongside British Paralympic star turned life peer Baronness Tanni Grey-Thompson.
In the debate she raised the issues of lower levels of pay and sponsorship which would allow more women to take full-time careers in their chosen sport.
212,000 fewer women now take part in some kind of sport compared to 2012.
Barbara said: “Despite the great performance of England in the Women’s World Cup, the numbers of women taking part in sport has fallen since the Olympics.
“I am concerned about the impact that inactivity has on the health of women in Salford. Less than one in four women take part in sport or fitness activities once a week, compared to nearly four in ten men.
“This is lower than both national and North West averages for women taking part in sport.”
“It is also harder for women to make a career out of sport, as the rewards of pay and sponsorship are much lower for women than men.
“England won the women’s rugby world cup with a team who were not paid professionally, nearly all of the players had other jobs. In football even elite players are not earning a great deal, with some players in the Women’s Super League paid as little as £50 a week.
“We need better levels of funding, sponsorship and pay to promote sport as a possible career for women.”
Keeley called for a US-style model to lay down in law a requirement for equal funding for high school and college sport.
“It is time the Government had a strategy to deal with the barriers preventing women and girls taking part in sport and physical activity,” she said.
Image: BBC
