Although women are climbing to the top in most industries in the work world, the sport industry has been slow to follow the trend. In the case of football, traditionally, men in the executive football positions are former football players. These former male players were used to being in an all male football environment. This is how the football associations justify the discrimination.
Because of this, UEFA launched the Women in Football Leadership Programme. UEFA states that their aim with this project is “to accelerate a development process within the associations.” People attend the program from all over Europe. At the program, women listen to speeches and participate in panel discussions. The program also offers participants a year-long mentor to inspire woman to continue to pursue leadership in football organizations.
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Female participants at the UEFA Women in Football Leadership Programme in May 2017.
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After many attempts for equality in the workplace of sports, some progress has been made. For example, WNBA star Becky Hammon was hired as the NBA’s first full time assistant coach, Liz Nicholl is the CEO of UK Sport, and Barbara Slater is BBC’s Director of Sport. These are just a few of the many women climbing to the top of the corporate ladder in the world of sports.
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| Liz Nicholl, who has been referred to as "the most powerful woman" in British sport. |
Very interesting topic. It's great to see the growth of females in sports executive positions and program over the past couple of years. In the Unites States they recently implemented female NFL referees that was entertained by a positive response from most of the country. What sport do you believe will see the most growth in female corporate positions? The sport with the smallest growth? What barriers to entry do you see to make it more difficult in sports?
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this article as I can definitely relate to the lack of women in careers in the sports industry. Although I am not trying to be a coach or manager of a team, I definitely am working to have a career in sports marketing and notice a large difference in just the amount of female students at those career fairs than my regular marketing career fairs. Advancements have definitely been made in this industry as many more women have found great success compared to how it once was, but there are definitely more advancements that can be made in the coming years. Thanks for this information!
ReplyDelete-Courtney Amiot
I believe that this is a great concept and program. Having more women as coaches and managers will really help to set a foundation for the women's leagues. Female athlete should desire to be a part of a team who has a female coach or manager. This makes a lot more sense because male and female competition in many sports is very different. The style of play is different and it would make no sense to have a male coach a female team. Although a man can learn to become a good coach for these teams, it would be easier for a female coach to empathize with the players.
ReplyDeleteAlthough this is a great concept, it could prove difficult to carry out. Business and sports are the two areas that are the hardest for women to get involved with. There are a lot of barriers to entry and established stereotypes in these areas that will make it difficult for them. Hopefully this does not defer women from still pursuing this.