Sexism has been prevalent in almost every arena globally, and sports management has been no exception. Sportswomen have always complained of the discrimination, inappropriate comments, inequality, and insulting generalizations that they face while engaging in sports activities. Sexism and sexual harassment refer to unwanted sexual attention and discrimination based on one's gender at work. From a manager’s perspective, sports management has always been considered a male-dominated profession. Their organizations have always displayed cultures that are quite susceptible to sexual harassment, especially to women in sports management (Taylor & Paule-Koba, 2020). Surprisingly, most sports organizations have gone to the extent of accepting and encouraging such kinds of sexist activities since it is encouraged by the organization's culture. Female employees in the sports fraternity and sportswomen have come to condone such behaviors as part of their experience, and there is nothing they can do about it.
Additionally, sexism in sports management does not come only from the opposite gender but also from the same gender. Women have never considered fellow women as strategic managers that can perform well and win games as required in society. Aggressive harassment and subtle sexism are both common in sports management (Taylor et al., 2018). Although subtle sexism adversely impacted the self-esteem of sportswomen, aggrieve sexism has, on most occasions, led to hospitalization, medication, or therapy for the affected sportswomen. In most cases, female athletes tend to invest in their significant time and dedicate the profound segments of their lives to the sports they are passionate about (Hindman & Walker, 2020). Yet, they are barred from engaging in such roles due to the barriers that stop them from their expected roles. Former athletes have always found it easy to address such discriminatory concerns since they have dealt with them throughout their professional careers and understand well whatever they are advocating for society.
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The perceived barriers in sports management positions can also be seen in how key candidates for such positions are quickly turned away. Perhaps, this explains the inadequate or lack of female representatives and applicants throughout the sports management profession. There is an underrepresentation of women in the sports industry based on their administrative and leadership positions within college sports (Taylor et al., 2018). The disparity between female colleges and athletes is a clear sign of sexism in sports management. Moreover, several women have been turned away from coaching roles when they attempted to pursue them as professional roles. The sexism in sports management can be seen in the few female coaches in charge of male teams (Hindman & Walker, 2020). The locker room of football teams for male clubs has always been considered sacred for women, yet there is a high percentage of male coaches in charge of female teams without the questions of sacred locker teams raised in society. Women in sports management may have never been perceived as authority figures and voices to men in society. In a society where male coaches are considered moral authority figures who go beyond their emotional and physical capacities for good performances of their teams, female coaches are perceived as failures who are only likely to cause poor performance. Female coaches are believed to be unable to motivate and push their players as hard as they should solely because of gender as females (Taylor & Paule-Koba, 2020). The few successful female coaches who were given a chance to manage the football teams have always felt that their presence is not welcomed, and a little mistake would be used to sack them. In contrast, their male counterparts would have been given a second chance to continue with the management. The lack of respect due to gender is proof of sexism and sexual discrimination in sports management.
References
Hindman, L. C., & Walker, N. A. (2020). Sexism in professional sports: How women managers experience and survive sport organizational culture. Journal of Sport Management, 34(1), 64-76.
Taylor, E. A., & Paule-Koba, A. (2020). “It’s Our Responsibility”: Examining the Integration of Sexual Harassment and Assault Education in Sport Management Programs. Sport Management Education Journal, 14(1), 1-11.
Taylor, E. A., Smith, A. B., Welch, N. M., & Hardin, R. (2018). “You should be flattered!”: Female sport management faculty experiences of sexual harassment and sexism. Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal, 26(1), 43-53.
