Women Still Face Uphill Climb in Sports Management

If recent research out of NC State is any indication, the dreaded glass ceiling is alive and well in the sports industry when it comes to management positions.

Dr. Heidi Grappendorf recently co-authored a study that examined the impact of gender on hiring for athletic administration positions such as athletic director, compliance director or life-skills director. The researchers surveyed athletic administrators across the country, asking them to examine fictitious vignettes of male or female candidates for various positions, then rank the candidates’ attributes and the likelihood of hiring them for the respective positions.

Anyone who thinks double standards for women have been relegated to the past will likely be disappointed with the findings.

The research showed that female candidates for the athletic director position, despite having the same background as their male counterparts, were viewed as less feminine. However, if the same female candidates applied for life-skills positions – positions which are predominately held by women in real-life athletic administration – they were viewed as more feminine.
Meanwhile, males were more likely to be chosen for athletic director positions, even with the exact same background and attributes as  female candidates.

Even more discouraging, perhaps, is that women who display traditionally masculine attributes – like co

mpetitiveness, aggressiveness and assertiveness – that are sought after in managerial positions (particularly in sports) are often derided for having those qualities once they receive the position.

A true catch-22 for women looking to break into the sports industry, isn’t it?

This isn’t the first research the university has done looking at how women and other minorities are viewed in the industry – see more here, here and here.

Grappendorf’s findings were recently published in the Journal for Sport Management.