Skip to main content

Women and Sport Leadership: A Case Study of a Development Programme

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Palgrave Handbook of Feminism and Sport, Leisure and Physical Education

Abstract

In 2014, the International Working Group for Women and Sport published the results of a study investigating the global progress made within the women-and-sport movement over the previous 20 years. The report identified that few actions have been taken to recruit, retain and enhance female sports leaders. This chapter addresses a recommendation from this report to increase women’s leadership in sport, by exploring the outcomes of a Women’s Sport Leadership Academy. The study identifies that the development of women sport leaders has traditionally been informed by liberal feminism, and there remain different barriers for women from countries in the Global North to those in the Global South. Recommendations include women-specific initiatives, the need for continued consciousness raising regarding organizational culture, and enhanced inter-cultural understanding.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 299.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 379.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Acosta, R. V., & Carpenter, L. J. (2014). Women in intercollegiate sport. A longitudinal, national study, thirty seven year update. 1977–2014. Unpublished manuscript. Retrieved from www.acostacarpenter.ORG

  • Adriaanse, J., & Schofield, T. (2013). Analysing gender dynamics in sport governance: A new regimes-based approach. Sport Management Review, 16(4), 498–513.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adriaanse, J., & Schofield, T. (2014). The impact of gender quotas on gender equality in sport governance. Journal of Sport Management, 28(5), 485–497.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, E. (2009). The maintenance of masculinity among the stakeholders of sport. Sport Management Review, 12(1), 3–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ashcroft, B. (2001). On post-colonial futures. London: Continuum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashcroft, B., Griffiths, G., & Tiffin, H. (2007). Post-colonial studies: The key concepts. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brake, D. (2010). Getting in the game: Title IX and the women’s sports revolution. New York: New York University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Branam, A., Ruminski, E., & Whalen, S. (2012). Teaching women’s leadership: The interdisciplinary and gendering of curricular leadership development. In M. Holba & E. Ruminski (Eds.), Communicative understandings of women’s leadership development (pp. 73–97). Plymouth: Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braund, C. (2014). Gender balance in global sport report 2014. Women on Boards. Retrieved from www.womenonboards.org.au

  • Brown, S., & Light, R. (2012). Women’s sport leadership styles as a result of interaction between feminine and masculine approaches. Asia-Pacific Journal of Health, Sport and Physical Education, 3(3), 185–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burton, L., Barr, C., Fink, J., & Bruening, J. (2009). “Think athletic director, think masculine?”: Examination of the gender typing of managerial subroles within athletic administration positions. Sex Roles, 61(5), 416–426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Butler, J. (2004). Undoing gender. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caudwell, J. (2012). Theorising women’s sport participation: Debating sport feminisms. Psychology of Women Section Review, 14(2), 4–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Claringbould, I., & Knoppers, A. (2007). Finding a ‘normal’ woman: Selection processes for board membership. Sex Roles, 56(7), 495–507.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Claringbould, I., & Knoppers, A. (2008). Doing and undoing gender in sport governance. Sex Roles, 58(1), 81–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Claringbould, I., & Knoppers, A. (2012). Paradoxical practices of gender in sport-related organizations. Journal of Sport Management, 26(5), 404–416.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coakley, J., & Pike, E. (2014). Sports in society: Issues and controversies. London: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • D’Almeida, C. (2007). The effects of cultural diversity in the workplace. ProQuest, Capella University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Department for Business Innovation and Skills. (2015). Understanding employers’ graduate recruitment and selection practices: Main report, Department for Business Innovation and. London: Skills.

    Google Scholar 

  • Desvaux, G., Devillard, S., & Sancier-Sultan, S. (2009). Women leaders, a competitive edge in and after the crisis. Retrieved from http://www.mckinsey.com/features/women_matter

  • Ely, R., Ibarra, H., & Kolb, D. (2011). Taking gender into account: Theory and design for Women’s leadership development programs. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 10(3), 474–493.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fasting, K., Sand, T., Pike, E., & Matthews, J. (2014). From Brighton to Helsinki. Women and sport progress report 1994–2014, IWG Secretariat/Finnish Sports Confederation, Helsinki.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guest, G., MacQueen, K., & Namey, E. (2011). Applied thematic analysis. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hargreaves, J. (1994). Sporting females: Critical issues in the history and sociology of women’s sports. London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hargreaves, J. (2000). Heroines of sport: The politics of difference and identity. London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hayhurst, L., MacNeill, M., & Frisby, W. (2011). A postcolonial feminist approach to gender, development and EduSport. In B. Houlihan & M. Green (Eds.), Routledge handbook of sports development (pp. 353–365). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henry, I., Radzi, W., Rich, E., Shelton, C., Theodoraki, E., & White, A. (2004). Women, leadership and the Olympic movement. International Olympic Committee and Institute of Sport and Leisure Policy, Loughborough University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hovden, J. (2000). “Heavyweight” men and younger women? The gendering of selection processes in Norwegian sport organizations. NORA – Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research, 8(1), 17–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hovden, J. (2010). Female top leaders – Prisoners of gender? The gendering of leadership discourses in Norwegian sports organizations. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 2(2), 183–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ibarra, H. (1992). Homophily and differential returns: Sex differences in network structure and access in an advertising firm. Administrative Science Quarterly, 37(3), 422–447.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krishnan, H., & Park, D. (2005). A few good women – On top management teams. Journal of Business Research, 58(12), 1712–1720.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kristiansen, E., Broch, T., & Pedersen, P. (2014). Negotiating gender in professional soccer: An analysis of female footballers in the United States. Scientific Forum in Sports Management, 10(1), 5–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Madsen, D. (2000). Feminist theory and literary practice. London: Pluto Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Matthews, J. (2014). A critical analysis of the development, outcomes and definition of the Women and Sport Movement (W&SM). Unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Chichester.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mazerolle, S. (2015). The experiences of female athletic trainers in the role of the head athletic trainer. Journal of Athletic Training, 50(1), 71–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGuire, G. (2002). Gender, race and the shadow structure: A study of informal networks and inequality in a work organisation. Gender & Society, 16(3), 303–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, A. (2002). Mentoring students and young people: A handbook of effective practice. London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Mohanty, C. (1995). Under Western eyes: Feminist scholarship and colonial discourses. In B. Ashcroft, G. Griffiths, & H. Tiffin (Eds.), The post-colonial studies reader (pp. 259–263). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nyong’o, T. (2010). The unforgivable transgression of being Caster Semenya. Women and Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory, 20(1), 95–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pfister, G. (2010). Are the women or the organisations to blame? Gender hierarchies in Danish sports organisations. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 2(1), 1–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sahay, S. (1998). Women and empowerment: Approaches and strategies. New Delhi: Discovery Publishing House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sartore, M., & Cunningham, G. (2007). Explaining the under-representation of women in leadership positions of sport organizations: A symbolic interactionist perspective. Quest, 59(2), 244–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sartore, M., & Cunningham, G. (2010). The lesbian label as a component of women’s stigmatization in sport organizations: An exploration of two health and kinesiology departments. Journal of Sport Management, 24(5), 481–501.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scraton, S., & Flintoff, A. (Eds.). (2002). Gender and sport: A reader. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seto-Pamies, D. (2013). The relationship between women directors and corporate social responsibility. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 22(6), 334–345.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharkey, B., & Gaskill, S. (2006). Sport physiology for coaches. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaw, S. (2006). Scratching the back of Mr X: Analyzing gendered social processes in sport organizations. Journal of Sport Management, 20(4), 510–534.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaw, S., & Frisby, W. (2006). Can gender equity be more equitable?: Promoting an alternative frame for sport management research, education and practice. Journal of Sport Management, 20(4), 483–509.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaw, S., & Hoeber, L. (2003). “A strong man is direct and a direct woman is a bitch”: Gendered discourses and their influence on employment roles in sport organisations. Journal of Sport Management, 17(4), 347–375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sisjord, M. (2012). Networking among women snowboarders: A study of participants at an International Woman Snowboard Camp. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 22(1), 73–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spivak, G. (1999). A critique of postcolonial reason: Toward a history of the vanishing present. London: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Velija, P., Ratna, A., & Flintoff, A. (2014). Exclusionary power in sports organisations: The merger between the Women’s Cricket Association and the England and Wales Cricket Board. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 49(2), 211–226.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Visser, M. (2011). The female leadership paradox. In Power, performance and promotion. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, A. (2016). Brighton declaration. In Women and leadership: History, concepts, and case studies. Great Barrington, MA: Berkshire.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, A., & Brackenridge, C. (1985). Who rules sport?: Gender divisions in the power structure of British sports organisations since 1960. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 20(1–2), 95–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Women in Sport. (2015). Checklist for change: Building a sustainable pipeline to gender diversity in sport leadership. London: Women in Sport.

    Google Scholar 

  • Women on Boards UK. (2011). Women on boards, Lord Davies report. London: Women on Boards UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Women on Boards. (2014). Gender balance in global sport report 2014. Gosford, NSW: Women on Boards.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (2013). How we classify countries. Retrieved from http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-classifications

  • Young, R. (2001). Postcolonialism: An historical introduction. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Pike, E., White, A., Matthews, J., Southon, S., Piggott, L. (2018). Women and Sport Leadership: A Case Study of a Development Programme. In: Mansfield, L., Caudwell, J., Wheaton, B., Watson, B. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Feminism and Sport, Leisure and Physical Education. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53318-0_51

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53318-0_51

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-53317-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-53318-0

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics