WHY WOMEN COACH
- For the love of the sport
- The development and progress of athletes
- To inspire young people
Respondents ranked their top preferences for what they believe are the most important for each heading
EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN COACHES
- Visibility of skilled and experienced women coaches
- Increased interest in women’s sport in community/media
- Investment in coach development programmes targeted at women
- Government focus on girls and women in sport
I love helping young females learn and develop through sport.
Survey respondent
I love giving back to the sport that gave me so much. I find it very rewarding developing young people to be the best they can be.
Survey respondent
OBSTACLES TO COACH DEVELOPMENT
- Lack of paid coaching positions
- Lack of practical, hands on coaching, learning opportunities
- Access to high quality coach development programmes
- The need for specific coaching qualification
Challenges for women coaches: An ecological view
There are multiple and intersecting factors that influence how female coaches’ engage with and experience their sport. These range from personal factors and beliefs through to socio-cultural norms and expectations. The survey used an ecological model to explore and understand the experience of female coaches from the perspective of four levels: personal; interpersonal; organisation; and sociocultural.
Source: LaVoi, N. M., & Dutove, J. K. (2012). Barriers and supports for female coaches: An ecological model. Sports Coaching Review, 1(1), 17-37.
Respondents ranked their top preferences for what they believe ore the most important for each heading
SOCIO-CULTURAL LEVEL
- Lack of acceptance of women coaches
- Greater scrutiny of women coaches
- Negative stereotypes of female coaches
The biggest barrier to women is opportunity – that is, men with few or no coaching qualifications or experience and very out of date playing experience and a focus on outcomes over development are consistently preferred over female coaches.
Survey respondent
ORGANISATION LEVEL
- Gender bias in selection/recruitment process
- Lack of support systems for women coaches
- Time demands of role
- Lack of opportunity to progress to higher coaching positions
In my area the high performance jobs are given to the “boys club”. There is no recruitment process or pathway what so ever.
Survey respondent
INTERPERSONAL LEVEL
- Ongoing old boys club culture
- Work-life balance
- Family commitments
There needs to be a better understanding from NSOs about the role of the woman in the home and therefore tailor roles and work conditions to both support and enable female coaches to be successful in their roles that may look different to their male counterparts.
Survey respondent
PERSONAL LEVEL
- Stress or burn out
- Feeling of isolation
- Lack of confidence in personal ability
