This article reviews research on the evaluation of women and men who occupy leadership roles. In these experiments, the characteristics of leaders other than their sex were field constant, and the sex of the leader was varied. These experiments thus investigated whether people are biased against female leaders and managers. Although this research showed only a small overall tendency for subjects to evaluate female leaders less favorably than male leaders, this tendency was more pronounced under certain circumstances

Gender and the evaluation of leaders: A meta-analysis.

The dramatic decline of women coaches since Title IX has been well documented. This investigation examined how homologous reproduction has influenced the proportion of female to male head coaches within the historical context of Title IX. Homologous reproduction is a process whereby dominants reproduce themselves based on social and/or physical characteristics. Therefore the employment relationship between sex of athletic director and sex of head coach was considered. The sample included 937 public high schools for three Title IX time periods. Analysis of variance procedures indicated significant main effects for sex of athletic director and Title IX timeframe: Significantly more women were hired under female versus male athletic directors. However, there was also a significantly smaller proportion of female coaches in 1981-82 and 1988-89 compared to 1974-75. This latter pattern occurred under both female and male athletic directors. Findings are discussed in terms of analyzing employment practices toward...

Structural Variables That Offer Explanatory Power for the Underrepresentation of Women Coaches Since Title IX: The Case of Homologous Reproduction

A vast amount of literature exists pertaining to female coaches at all levels of competition from around the globe. Within this article, using Brofenbrenner's ecological systems theory, the complex and multidimensional barriers that affect, impede or prevent females from seeking or remaining in coaching positions, in addition to factors that support and facilitate career advancement and retention, are summarized. Barriers and supports represented in the literature are organized from most proximal (individual) to most distal (socio-cultural) to the coach. We conclude by identifying gaps in the research. The model can be used as a reflective heuristic to educate about the numerous dynamic organizational and societal barriers and supports engaged with by female coaches. In doing so, productive coping strategies can be learned and solutions and policy changes generated in order to increase opportunities for female coaches and make the environment within which they work increasingly inclusive, positive and sup...

Barriers and supports for female coaches: an ecological model

This study investigated gender differences in the role of self-efficacy, occupational valence, valence of coaching, and perceived barriers in preference to coach at the high school, 2-year college, Division III, Division II, and Division I levels. The participants, 191 Big Ten university basketball players (94 men, 97 women), responded to a specially constructed instrument. The genders did not differ in their coaching self-efficacy, preferred occupational valence, and perceived barriers. Relative to men, women perceived greater valence in coaching (p .20).

Gender Differences in Preferences for Coaching as an Occupation: The Role of Self-Efficacy, Valence, and Perceived Barriers

If only 49.9% of the women's Division I college athletic teams are coached by women (Acosta & Carpenter, 1985a), then based on extrapolation it seems that women hold about 25% of all Division I coaching positions. Although a few researchers have investigated the reasons for this skewed gender ratio, they have used the individual model that assumes the worker shapes the workplace. In contrast, this author attempts to explain male domination of the profession using an organizational model based on the assumption that the structure of the workplace shapes the worker. This model is the basis for Kanter's (1977) theory in which she identifies three structural determinants of the workplace that shape gender differentiated work behavior. This author explores the shape of these determinants—opportunity, power, and proportion in the coaching profession—to determine how they may affect the number of females who enter and leave the coaching profession. The discussion of each determinant is accompanied by suggestions...

Gender and the Coaching Profession

The present study tested whether sex bias favoring males exists in the evaluation of basketball coaching ability for male and female coaches varying in professional status (defined by won/loss records and coaching honors). Subjects were male (n = 80) and female (n = 80) high school basketball athletes. Subjects evaluated written coaching philosophy statements from a hypothetical male and female coach described as having either high or low professional status based upon won/loss record and coaching honors. The coaches were evaluated with semantic differential scales which assessed knowledge of coaching, ability to motivate, player's desire to play for, and predicted future success. A forced preference procedure in which subjects had to select which of the two coaches they would prefer to play for was also employed. A sex of athlete by sex of coach interaction effect on the four unforced dependent variables indicated strong sex bias favoring males. Overall, male and female subjects rated the male c...

Differential Effects of Sex and Status on Evaluation of Coaching Ability

Current methods employed for curriculum design fail to integrate the work demands placed on graduates of professional preparation programs. This is especially true of curricula which are designed using traditional and expert strategies. As an alternative, this present investigation proposes an alumni-based model to curriculum design. The alumni-based model relies on the assessment of curriculum by alumni. In addition, the alumni model utilizes performance ratings of employers and measures of satisfaction by alumni in a regression model to identify curricula leading to increased work performance and satisfaction. This model was tested with sport management alumni from the major sport management preparation programs. Surveys were sent to sport management alumni to assess their graduate training and work satisfaction. Surveys were also sent to employers of these graduates to assess sport manager performance. The regression analysis revealed that alternative curricular designs relate to manager perfo...

An Alumni Oriented Approach to Sport Management Curriculum Design Using Performance Ratings and a Regression Model

Sex bias in attitudes toward male and female basketball coaches was examined within a context of social learning theory to determine if the precepts of social learning theory help clarify exactly when and why differential attitudes toward males and females occur. More specifically, would having a male or female coach role model and participating on a winning or losing team mediate sex bias previously found when female athletes evaluate hypothetical coaches who vary in sex and status (defined by won/loss record and coaching honors)? In addition to evaluating written coaching philosophy statements from a hypothetical male and female coach with a successful or unsuccessful professional status, the subjects (N=80) were forced to choose which coach they would prefer to have as their own. Attitudes were mediated by both the sex of the athlete's own coach and successfulness of the athlete's team. There appears to be merit in future researchers examining the potential causes of sex stereotypes and bias within a c...

Social Learning Theory as a Foundation for Examining Sex Bias in Evaluation of Coaches

(1984) Shaping up to Climb a New Corporate Ladder … Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance: Vol 55, No 7, pp 12-14

Shaping up to Climb a New Corporate Ladder

The major purposes of the present study were to determine to what extent and in what ways an individual's personality is affected by the working environment. Three questions were asked about the effect of working environment on: (a) realism or accuracy of self-concept, (b) agreement between real self and ideal self, and (c) functionality of personality characteristics. Subjects were 49 physical education faculty in three inner-city and three suburban Los Angeles area high schools. The Holmen Adjective Check List (HACL) was used to assess self-concept, real-ideal self discrepancy, and functionality. Results showed that: (a) suburban teachers had more accurate self-concepts than did inner-city teachers, (b) suburban teachers were seen as being more like their “ideal selves” than were inner-city teachers, and (c) individuals experienced in a given work setting were not necessarily seen as better adapted to that environment than those not working there.

Bonnie L. Parkhouse

Papers

Differential Effects of Sex and Status on Evaluation of Coaching Ability

An Alumni Oriented Approach to Sport Management Curriculum Design Using Performance Ratings and a Regression Model

Social Learning Theory as a Foundation for Examining Sex Bias in Evaluation of Coaches

Shaping up to Climb a New Corporate Ladder

Relationship between Working Environment, Self-Concept, Real-Ideal Self Discrepancy, and Functionality in Physical Education Teachers