You Study Like a Girl: Experiences of Female Sport Management Students

Abstract

Female students are underrepresented within university sport management programs. Because of the concept of the “chilly climate,” the underrepresentation may impact their experiences as students and their opportunities inside and outside of the classroom. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of female students’ experiences within this male-dominated major. Three qualitative focus groups with female sport management students were conducted. The results found the female students had strategies to overcome barriers, a firm understanding of the reality of the gender dynamic within sport management, and an awareness of the importance of networking to succeed in the major. These findings may help sport management programs better support their female students through initiatives like women-in-sport-management clubs.

Women and Men Professors as Role Models and Their Effect on Academics’ Career Decisions

“…Those professors can be seen as potential role models for people in earlier (e.g., under-and postgraduate students, and Ph.D. students) and in late-career stages (e.g., postdoc researchers), since they represent how certain behaviors result in "desirable consequences" (Schunk & Usher, 2019, p. 13), such as career success and reputation. The relevance of academic role models is underlined by research on women's experiences at sport management faculties, highlighting that women search for support systems and networks with other women as a coping strategy for their minority status (Morris et al, 2019). These women were aware that academic sport disciplines and sports in general are highly gendered (Morris et al, 2019).…”

“…The relevance of academic role models is underlined by research on women's experiences at sport management faculties, highlighting that women search for support systems and networks with other women as a coping strategy for their minority status (Morris et al, 2019). These women were aware that academic sport disciplines and sports in general are highly gendered (Morris et al, 2019). Therefore, education about the importance of genderdiverse faculties is needed (DeLuca et al, 2022), for example, by offering students women role models.…”