The other day, I was looking at my alma mater’s website and was struck by the fact that the majority of athletic department positions have been filled
by males. It appears that two-thirds of the head coaching jobs (I counted 14 out of the 21 intercollegiate teams total) are now being led by male coaches, including 6 male coaches of sports that could be coached by females (such as volleyball, soccer, swimming, track, x-country). I recognize that some of the head coaching positions are, for a lack of a better term, co-ed (such as cross-country, tennis, swimming & diving, track & field). However, even in these “co-ed” examples, only the tennis program is led by a female. In addition, in terms of administrative positions, it looks like females hold only 3 out of the 11 possible jobs, including the SWA (which should be, at least by definition, a woman). Which means that nearly three-quarters of the top positions in the athletic department are held by men.
In addition, at the prep school where I am currently coaching, there are two female head coaches out of 16 interscholastic programs. To take one season as an example, during the winter, all five head coaching positions were held by males. However, the assistant coaches of the girls’ soccer, girls’ basketball and co-ed swimming and diving were female. Does anyone wonder if athletes internalize these coaching gender roles? What is the message, for example, when the three girl’s teams in the winter are led by men, but supported by women? Perhaps the message being sent is that behind every good man there is a woman! But also, it makes me wonder- were there any qualified women out there to lead the girls’ programs?
Whenever asked, athletic directors and search committees will assure you that they are focused on hiring the best candidate possible. However, even an intentionally “gender blind” hiring process can put women at a disadvantage. For example, women may have more gaps in their resumes due to having children and family responsibilities. So when you compare a male resume with a female resume, it may appear as though the male has accomplished more than the female. Also, there are fewer coaching opportunities available to women overall. With few exceptions, females mostly coach women’s sports, whereas men can coach either men’s or women’s sports. This is why you don’t see women coaching men’s soccer, but a male coaching women’s soccer is quite common.
Here’s the thing. I honestly believe that there are good, capable female coaches out there who are desperately trying to break into the coaching ranks as well as athletic adminstration. One roadblock for women, I think, is that the system doesn’t seem to support females entering or staying in the profession. The hours and time commitment in college athletics (and increasingly, high school) are not always conducive to juggling multiple roles, so women may be detered from athletic professions to begin with. Also, the search process must spread beyond the old boys network. Put job postings on sport organization websites. Advertise to the local women’s leagues. Talk to other female coaches. There are strong candidates out there if committees are willing to search.
I believe our female athletes benefit when they have more female coaches and adminstrators. Girls need to see, with real examples, that women can get hired and lead athletic programs just as well as men can. While not every female athlete is going to pursue a career in athletics, they still need to have positive examples of leadership, achievement and work-life balance. Promoting females in sport professions will provide examples for young girls to follow.
For more information about females in sport professions, I recommend reading Vivian Acosta and Linda Carpenter’s “Women in Intercollegiate Sport: A Longitudinal, National Study.” http://www.acostacarpenter.org/
The 2008 update on women’s intercollegiate athletics includes information on participation opportunities for female athletes, women’s sports teams, and employment opportunities for coaches, athletics directors and administrators, athletic trainers and sports information directors. Personally, I’ve been following the results for at least 12 years now. I think it is the single most comprehensive source for statistics on females in sports.
I completely agree with you Liz. From my experience in the sport of Track and Field, I only know a handful women head coach on both the high school and college level. It seems that the DI women track coaches that I know of had to sacrifice some aspect of their personal lives in order to get to where they are. Some of them are single, or without kids.
It’s been a real problem for women to break into the mold of coaching. There is no reason why women should be blocked from coaching, as they are just as competent as men, if not better in some cases.