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2024 AUSactive Educator of the Year and advocate for women's health in fitness, Mish Wright, is using her platform to spotlight a pressing issue that has long been overlooked - misogyny entrenched in the education system for fitness professionals, particularly in the design and delivery of Certificate III and IV qualifications.

Having built her career on challenging the status quo, Wright isn't here for the accolades alone and shares "It's great to be recognised, but let's be real - these Cert III and IV qualifications are still based on research on young, fit men. Women are an afterthought. And that's a problem."

As the head of education for Women's Fitness Education, Wright has long been an outspoken advocate for the inclusion of women's health in the fitness industry curriculum.

Her journey began after a traumatic experience of training herself into pelvic floor dysfunction following the birth of her second child.

Wright notes "I was following the advice and training protocols that were available to me - and they failed me. Not because I did anything wrong, but because the system wasn't built with women in mind."

The glaring gap in fitness education is about more than just incontinence or prolapse. It's about the industry's failure to acknowledge that women's bodies work differently throughout the life stages of menstruation, pregnancy, postpartum, and menopause.

"Fitness professionals are graduating without the knowledge they need to work with over half the population, and it's unacceptable that they have to pay extra for this vital education," Wright explains.

Wright's work has not gone unnoticed. She's developed specialised courses, including the EVEolution™ program, designed to address these educational gaps. Women's Fitness Education now offers a comprehensive approach, ensuring that fitness professionals understand how to adapt training for women's specific needs regardless of whether they choose to specialise.

In addition to her advocacy within the fitness industry, Wright consults to organisations that want to include women's health into their education. She also runs menopause workshops for all staff or clients (or both).

"This is a systemic issue that goes beyond fitness. It's misogyny in education frameworks. What we're seeing in fitness education mirrors what's happening across the board," she asserts.

Her 2024 Educator of the Year win from AUSactive highlights the success of her mission so far. Still, Wright is clear that this is just the beginning and adds "winning this award is an incredible honour, but it also means I've got a bigger platform to call out the BS. The industry needs to evolve to reflect the diverse needs of its audience. Women have more access to information than ever and are rightfully demanding better."

In an industry that still views women's health as a 'nice-to-have,' Wright’s message is clear: women's health is not optional—it's essential.

And it's time fitness education caught up.

More information on Mish Wright
Mish Wright is a Melbourne-based educator, consultant, and head of Women's Fitness Education, a leading organisation providing women's health education to fitness professionals. She is the creator of the EVEolution™ program and a passionate advocate for integrating women's health into mainstream fitness education. Wright has been recognised as Educator of the Year in Australia (2021), New Zealand (2023), FUEL Woman of the Year for advocacy for women's health and now the 2024 AUSactive Educator of the Year.

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