Roles of Women in Athletics

Where did she go?: The lack of female coaches

• Why are there so few women in administrative roles in athletics (presidents, athletic directors, head coaches)?

• Should there be more legislation to ensure the equality of women?

Literature Review

• women make up 47 percent of the work force (registered nurses, elementary/middle school teachers, medical/health service managers, and psychologists)

• Currently 42.9% of female sports are coached by females

• Before Title IX 90% female sports were coached by females

• 215 (20.3%) female Athletic Directors (majority of AD’s do hiring)

Hypothesis

SexismStereotypes (emotions and not being able to handle the pressure)Families

Methods • 500 Survey’s to Coaches and Athletic Directors• Electronically using Qualtircs via e-mail • Consisting of 37 questions (coach) and 31 (AD’s)• Attempted to do phone interviews

Question Examples

• Are you a Kentucky Resident? Yes No

• Briefly Explain what you enjoy about living in Kentucky?

• How does grass seeds help with grow Bluegrass?Negative effect No effect Positive effect

Coaches Results

Gender

26

37

MALE FEMALE

Marital Status

29 29

4 1SINGLE MARRIED DOMESTIC DIVORCED

Children

25

38

YES NO

Ethnicity

3

57

2 1AFRICAN AMERICAN CAUCASIAN HISPANIC OTHER

Age

11

39

12 5 6UNDER 25 26-35 36-45 46-55 OVER 55

Education

2029

2 2BACHELORS MASTERS PH. D/ED. D UNDERGRADUATE NOT

COMPLETED

Job Title

39

202 2

HEAD COACH ASSISTANT COACH GRADUATE ASSISTANTS NONE

Division

18

5

12

19

4 3NCAA D1 NCAA D2 NCAA D3 NAIA D1 NAIA D2 OTHER

Sports indicated by respondents

• Volleyball 8• Soccer 10• Golf 3• Swimming 8• Cheer/Dance 3• Cross country/track and field 7

• Basketball 10• Wrestling 3• Field hockey 2• Softball 5• Bowling 1

Coaches Rapport

• Coaching Experience

• Playing Experience

• Winning Percentage

Have you ever been coached by a female?

46 yes

9 no

8 N/A

What level did this occur?

28 high school

17 college

1 Professional

Female coaches position

24 Head Coach

11 Assistant

11 Other

Applying for Coaching

Have you ever applied for a coaching position and did not get it ?

30 yes

13 no

Did you believe it is was based on your gender?

2 females and 5 males Yes

20 Females and 8 males No

Have you ever applied for a coaching position with the opposite gender sport?

27 yes16 no

15 Females12 Males

Challenges(56 responses) Challenges of hiring female coaches:

1. None (24)2. Applying/Interest 63. Emotional 44. Pre-Judgment/Skills/Time/Family (each 3)5. Gossiping (disloyalty)/experience (each 2)6. Stereotypes/micromanaged/request of male/flexibility/income/sexism (each

1)

Comments

• “Some of the players have requested male coaches.”• “Usually do not get a lot of applications/resumes for our positions.”• “Finding one that has experience”• “qualifications and experience, applicant pool is small compared to

males”• “Challenges to the believed strength of females to deal with such a role.

The belief that people have that women make judgments based on emotion and not rationalization.”

Reason not being hired(59 responses) Reasons women are not being hired:

1. Female interest 102. Experience 83. Family 74. None/”boys club” mentality/Confidence (each 5)5. Male AD’s 46. Emotions/request of male (each 3)7. Stereotypes/time (each 2)8. Male ignorance/society/money/competitive/female success (each 1)

Comments• “Sports are a "boys club" mentality and people are slow to change.”• “Aspirations of having family; potential of having athletic directors who are 'old

school' in thinking women won't make best coaches (something I have seen first hand).”

• “1st- Are women going after the jobs? 2nd- I don't believe all coaches have as much confidence in themselves as much as male coaches do.”

• “Not as many qualified or have enough experience”• “I feel many women do not pursue coaching due to them being fine in the

assistant position. Also as females many will choose having a family above coaching along with little pay in a male dominated field.”

Not Staying in coaching(72 responses) Reasons for women not staying in coaching:

1. Families 382. Time 93. Competitive 84. Not hired quickly/burn out/Relocation/sexism (each 2)5. Personal choice/dept. support/lack of respect/Pay/Judgment/

minority/experience/none (each 1)

Comments• “No success with getting jobs quickly.”• “Not enough support within the department. The time it takes to be a

competitive and great coach takes away from the wife/mother roles.”• “After they get fired, they are unwilling to apply for other jobs; want to start a

family and don't feel like they can juggle it all, work/life balance, job instability”• “Coaching is a very demanding field. Raising a family and having a support

system that is willing to help raise children would be difficult as a female coach. Also, to climb to coaching latter requires moving all over the country. I believe when I woman has children, especially school age, she is more likely to quit coaching to stay in an area she likes.”

Mentorship

The article by Libby Sander “In The Game, But Rarely No. 1” suggest that one of the reasons that

there are few women in top positions such as Head Coaching, Athletic Directors, Presidents, etc.

is due to the lack of mentorship by those who hold those positions. Do you agree? If not, briefly explain what you believe contributes to the lack

of females in those positions.

Lack of mentorship is a factor in women being in top positions

21 agree

16 neither nor

6 disagree

Comments• “Women think of other women in similar roles as competition and don't want to

mentor out of fear of job.”• “This is a good possibility, but I am not so sure as to this is the reason for this to

happen.”• “My own personal experience, I have been mentored and encouraged to move

forward.”• “I think its a combinations of less women in the applicant pool (either due to

lack of interest of lack of confidence) and the time required to get to that position while having a family. There are only 3 women head coaches in our department and we are all single with no children.”

Did you have a mentor?

35 yes 8 no

11 men and 9 women mentored by males2 men and 13 women mentored by females

Title IX

Should there be more legislation?

8 yes

34 no

Comments• “Legislation is the wrong way to go about it. I believe the mentorship

aspect will help. I also feel the title IX legislation is strong enough.”• “I think schools should be investigated on a regular basis for all equality

issues. Basic things happen all the time such as male coaches gravitating towards male recruits. Force school to hire so many women in athletic staff.”

• “The problem is that they are normally not as qualified as their male competition and this hampers their success. Women typically do not put in the years coaching at youth, middle school, academy, club, high school to build their resume. I believe they should. Just because you were a college athlete does not mean that you will be a good coach at the college level.”

Number of female athletes and athletics teams on college campuses

Very Strong Effect 30

No Effect 4

Some Positive effect 8

Interest in and significance of women’s athletics teams on college campuses

Very strong effect 15

No effect 6

Some Positive effect 21

Fair allocation of resources between men’s and women’s teams based on interest and

ability Very strong effect 13

No effect 4

Some positive effect 23

Some negative effect 2

Resources college coaches of women’s teams have to be successful

Very strong effect 12

No effect 7

Some positive effect 19

Some negative effect 4

Number and likelihood of women coaching at the collegiate level

Very strong effect 8

No effect 9

Some positive effect 20

Some negative effect 5

Representation of women in leadership positions in collegiate athletics

Very strong effect 6

No effect 13

Some positive effect 22

Some negative effect 1

Athletic Directors Results

Demographics• 1 female, 3 males• 1 single, 3 married• 3 with children, 1 no children• 1 African American, 3 Caucasians• 1 aged 26-35, 2 aged 46-55, 1 aged over 55• 1 Bachelors, 2 Masters, 1 Ph.D./Ed. D • 2 AD’s, 1 VP/AD, 1 Assistant AD• 1 NCAA D1, 1 NCAA D2, 1 NCAA D3, 1 NAIA D1

Played Sports3 High School

3 Collegiate

1 Professional

None Coached by Female

Challenges of Hiring Female Coaches

Applying

Experience

None

Comments

• “very limited candidates applied and or high qualifications specifically experience.”

• “We have hired SEVERAL female coaches, in addition to adding many women's sports, at the Div. I university where I am A.D. Any challenges that may have arisen I have seen as opportunities.”

Why women are not being hiredExperience (2)

Existing job security

Double standards

Family

Comments

• “It's hard for women to have the experience that many men have already achieved. Those that do have are usually already ready in very good coaching situations.”

• “I can't imagine any reason, unless it's lack of experience in some cases. Otherwise, I see no reason not to hire a female head coach.”

• “Double standard / Family”

Why Women Decide not to stay in coaching

Children/Family Obligations (3)

Time

Travel

Comments

• “Family obligations”• “Sometimes, if they have young children and their priorities change, they

decide the travel and other time commitments are not feasible.”• “In my experience one of the main reasons I have seen women leave

coaching is when they have children. In y experience they want to not have to spend so much time away from home.”

The article by Libby Sander “In The Game, But Rarely No. 1” suggest that one of the reasons that

there are few women in top positions such as Head Coaching, Athletic Directors, Presidents, etc.

is due to the lack of mentorship by those who hold those positions. Do you agree? If not, briefly explain what you believe contributes to the lack

of females in those positions.

Lack of mentorship is a factor in women being in top positions

Agree 2

Neither nor 1

Recent Positions Filled

Football (2)

Men’s and Women’s Track and Field

Women’s Wrestling

No Female Hires

Few female applicants

Male most qualified

More LegislationNo (3)

Why?• Better implement what is already there• Popularity of women’s sports will bring female coaches into spotlight• Consistency in definition of current law

Title IX impact on the following

• Women in sports: Very Strong Positive Effect (3)• Interest in Women’s Sports: Very Strong Positive Effect (3)• Allocation of Resources: VSPE (2), Some Positive Effect (1)• Coaching Resources: VSPE (2), No Effect (1)• Female Coaches: VSPE (1), Some Positive Effect (2)• Female Leadership Roles: VSPE (1), SP (1), NE (1)

What I learned

Limitations

• Low response rate• Time frame• Dishonesty• Travel/Previous Obligations• Question wording• Concerns about confidentiality• Opinion orientated/Open ended questions

Future Research

• Perception of the opposite gender holding the head coaching position• How much influence financial resources play in coaching • The motivation/force/cause behind coaches choosing to coach.