Women in intercollegiate athletics : an exploration of the career development of female senior administrators.

Intercollegiate athletics;Gender;Career development;Sport administration;Women

Meg C. Hancock

University:University of Louisville

Department:Department of Leadership, Foundations, and Human Resource Education

关键词: Intercollegiate athletics;    Gender;    Career development;    Sport administration;    Women;   

Others  :  https://ir.library.louisville.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1568&context=etd

美国|英语

来源: The Universite of Louisville's Institutional Repository

【 摘 要 】

The roles of assistant and associate athletic director have been identified aspositions in the "pipeline" to achieving the position of Athletic Director (Grappendorf,Lough, & Griffin, 2004; Lapchick, 2010). Given the underrepresentation of femaleAthletic Directors in intercollegiate athletics and the concern that women may experiencedifficulty accessing such positions, there is a growing need to understand the careerexperiences and expectations of women in senior-level management positions inintercollegiate athletics. The purpose of this study was to explore the career development of femaleassistant and associate athletic directors at NCAA Division I institutions. This studyinvestigated participants' (a) career goals and expectations, (b) supports and barriers tocareer goals, and (c) negotiation strategies and coping mechanisms for managing barriersand supports in the pursuit of career goals. Data were collected from 15 senior-level female administrators in NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics departments. Career goals for participants included (a) contributing to the development of student athletes and (b) advancing within an athleticdepartment to a position of influence. For the majority of participants, a "position ofinfluence" did not include a career goal of achieving the position of Athletic Director. Participants identified supports to achieving career goals as relationships with supervisorsand mentors, professional development activities, opportunities for career advancement.Barriers to career goals included factors participants associated with a male-dominatedindustry and organizational structures. Participants perceived, however, the culture ofintercollegiate athletics is shifting to one that is more gender inclusive. Moreover,findings suggest the perceived gender typing of positions in an athletic department maybe a product of choice rather than a male-dominated industry or organizational structure.Finally, participants negotiated barriers by learning new skills, engaging networks, andthrough a process of self-reflection. Study findings provided valuable information for sport managers in intercollegiate athletics, the sport management classroom, and women and men enteringintercollegiate athletic administration.