W H E R E A R E A L L T H E W O M E N I N C O A C H I N G ?

The Glass Ceiling

Melissa Ferry MEd; RAA

Coach Ferry

GMU [BSEd] /VCU [MEd]

NIAAA [RAA]

USATF Level 1 & Level 2

2nd Level 2/USATF Instructor Cert. - July

4th yr/Head Track & Field Coach- Girls’ @ MV

10th yr coaching – Club, Private, Public

#1

List the top 5 male coaches you’ve ever competed for.

List the top 5 female coaches you’ve ever competed for.

Gender Wars

Not meant to be male bashing

Coached, competed for, with and against men who were the perfect fit for their position

Know men and women not

Ellen Staurowsky,

professor in sport management,

Drexel University

Those still claiming that men won’t respect coaches who are women are actually denigrating women and men.

“To uniformly assume that men are so intolerant and incapable of accepting women as leaders should be insulting to men….Sport has the capability to be the ultimate meritocracy. In selling women short, men are being sold short as well.”

NWCA

National Wrestling Coaches Association legal challenge to Title IX

Case was dismissed

Lawsuit focus to change interpretation of Title IX

Effort to protect men’s Olympic sports

Ground is not being made.

Solutions the Hard Way

Biggest enemy of men's minor sports are football and men's basketball

huge amounts of money in football/basketball on college campuses increases likelihood of not meeting gender equity

increases chances that men's "minor" sports will be dropped

Need for spending caps

$450,000-a-year sports like wrestling in order to add an artificial turf practice field for the football team.

85 scholarships to college football programs

NFL: 53 players.

Ups Downs

545% increase in participation in college athletics since 1972

979% increase in participation in high school sports

gains credited by one study for ‘causing a 10 percent increase in women working full time and 12 percent spike in women choosing traditionally male-dominated career paths.’

Involvement of boys and girls during early years virtually identical

Drop out earlier

More rapid rate

Female Sport Statistics

Why Are We Losing?

Dad coaches, mom drives

Boys play, girls watch

Seen as socializing method for boys

Girls social through sports – not needed

Lack of visibility

Fewer role models

Unaware of female achievements

‘Non-competitive’ sports: Active over athletic

Poor self-image

Confidence in skills, performances

Uniforms

Why is Female Leadership Important?

Untapped resources

Widens the talent pool

Women make ½ of national teams

Athletes with international experience not becoming coaches

Perception of male dominated sports

Promote sport as attractive to women and girls

Title IX

Different life experiences

Understand psychological + social pressures – female specific

Not suggestion girls coach only girls

Business world is in on it

Percentage of Women in Senior Management

Results

University of Leeds Study

1 female board member reduced chance of folding by 20%

More females, higher the reduction in chance of folding

Business with more women on the board had

66% higher returns on invested capital than rivals

53% higher returns on equity than rivals

42% higher sales than rivals

Leading Nations

Russia (apx 46%): 1.2 women for every 1 man

Botswana, Philippines, Thailand

Families tend to live with or near grandparents

Build-in childcare infrastructure

#2

Which NCAA school has a female presiding over each women’s program?

What is current percentage of women overseeing women’s programs?

Head Coaches of Women’s Programs (NCAA)

*Women coaching men: 3%*

90

58.2

42.9 40.2 39.6

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1972 1978 2009 2012 2013

Women's Programs Coached by Men

Women's Programs Coached by Women

University of Minnesota Study

8063.6 60

16.7 16.7 16.7 12.5

2036.4 40

83.3 83.3 83.3 87.5

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

Cincinnati Texas Penn State Arkansas Kentucky North Carolina

State

Oklahoma State

Men as Head of Women's Teams Women as Head of Women's Teams

*Not a single NCAA school has a female coaching every women’s team.

NCAA New Head Coach Positions (since 2000)

68.7%

31.3%

New Head Coach Positions (1,774)

Filled by Men

Filled by Women

1,220 POSITIONS

554

Fie

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Basketball Softball

Fighting Stereotypes

Track & Field Cross Country

Dual Staff

Golf Tennis

Socio-economic

Soccer

Crew

Growth Sports

Gender Roles/”Women’s Role”

Seen as ‘mothering’

Limited to younger age groups (peewee, MS, Rec/house)

Nurturing

Perception as sports too tough for women

Time consuming

Evening, weekend and travel

Questioned if they can handle due to domestic responsibilities

Professional Development

Women hiring men

Men go on to be head coaches

Provides springboard and experience

Men protect against homophobia fears

Complicating separate factor

Male managers of teams being hired as women’s coaches

Female managers NOT being hired as coaches for either gender

If so, women’s program only

Role Models

Low #s = no professional or personal mentors

High performance work is low profile

Judo

Swim/Diving

Track

Physicality

Belief physical strength precludes coaching

Gymnastics

Tennis

Belief physical skill precludes coaching

Football

Wrestling/Boxing

Licensure

Women see quals as a way to gain credibility = confidence

Won’t coach until they are in hand

More time consuming to move forward

Time waiting to receive could be used getting experience

Self-Defeating

Job Ads

Men apply if they meet 60% of ‘needed qualifications’

Women apply if they meet 100%

Women aren’t putting themselves out there

Believe under-qualified means not qualified

Of 100 apps received

65-70 are Male

30-35 are female

WOMEN ARE NOT APPLYING

Basketball

Example: 8 Positions per school

4 Women (1 head, 3 assistant)

4 Men (1 head, 3 assistant)

Men apply to all 8, fill 6

Women apply to 4, fill 2

Familial Concerns

Demographic transition

Dependency rates are rising

Women giving up work to care for younger AND OLDER

Urbanization: families moving away from support networks

Ex: Germany- most generous maternity leave

3 years after birth guaranteed a position

Long time away decreases ability to work up ladder

Employed NOT climbing

Flexible Working Hours

No common trend

Japan: Low flexibility and women in management

Sweden: 85% of business offer flexible working roles

Women just 23% of senior management

Leadership/Preconceived Notions

Leadership mostly male

Notion to hire individuals who have ‘masculine’ attributes

‘Unemotional’

‘Rational’

‘Tough’

Women’s Athletic Departments

Across the Industry

Support Networks

Solid support network

Peer/family enouragement/support

“Village building”

Networking within the sport

Rehire Concerns

Men fired and almost always rehired

EX:

Rich Rodriquez: recruiting violations

Bob Knight: trash-can incident, kicking, head-butting

Women fired and not rehired

Judy Runge: 70% win rate @ Oregon

Expansion

Differences in pay between male and female programs

Benefits packages

Media coverage

Homophobia

Stereotypes

Culture of exclusion

Recruiting: “Family friendly”

ESPNW article

#3

Do you feel they share similar attributes?

Did one gender exhibit something the other may not have?

Talent ID

Same as ID’ing talent in athletes

Recruitment

Building leadership

Roles separate from captain positions

Developing leadership skills in underclassmen

Focus

No Trivial roles

Chaperone

Equipment manager

Administrative tasks only

Assistant roles should be development building

Thoughts Ideas

How do we engage our female athletes?

Boys step into roles, girls prefer assignments

Leadership: Participant v. Facilitator v. Leader

Hypothetical:

If you left for a day, could they conduct practice?

Would your assistant coaches be listened to?

Do athletes and coaches have the tools to conduct all of practice?

Developmental Roles

Event Captains/Leaders: rotate every week or so

Drill leaders

Elder Council: Captains and other seniors

Rotational Leadership among underclassmen

Not relegated to just captains

Female Athletes as Leaders

***********LEADERSHIP CANNOT BE LEFT TILL SENIOR YEAR*********

Development of Existing Coaches

People stay in positions they feel successful, included

Coaching v. Supervising v. Chaperoning

Development of Skill v. Accumulation of Hours

Client Group/Support

Professional development

Informal learning

Mentoring

National networks

Programs to interact

Role Models

Organizations

Raise profiles of existing coaches

Reach out together

Grassroots

Inclusion of professional orgs in preseason meetings

ADs to all staff [general]

Head coaches to assistants [sport specific]

Leave extras in office w/ paperwork wall

Establish female building leader

Like new teacher mentorships

Liaison, resource, role model

Bus travel options

Day care

Common competition areas

Policy

Women only coaching women

Providing already open doors

Creates open doors

Suggests no prior assumption

Rooney Rule

For every position at least one female must be interviewed

Sport-Specific Opportunities

USATF: Minority Women Coaching Education Scholarship

WBCA: “So You Want to be a Coach?” program

Must be nominated by head coach

Model idea (!!)

Swimming: Women in Coaching Clinic

USA Soccer (NSCAA):

Women’s Committee

Charlotte Moran Memorial Scholarship

Rising Stars : female coaches nominated for excellence on & off field. provide networking opportunities, recognition

coaches 30 or under/coaching for 5 years or less.

NCAA NACWAA

Matching Fund for Advancement of Ethnic Minority Women Coaches and Officials

Committee on Women’s Athletics

NCAA/NACWAA Institute

National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators

Scholarships

Institutes (Admin. Advance, Leadership, Exec)

Symposiums

Scholarships

Rising Stars

Non-Sport Specific

o The Huddle

o NCAA Women Coaches Academy

o WeCoachU Regional Programs

o 1-day regional training seminars

o for women coaches/interested students

o Program: inspiration, motivation, skills development, networking and mentoring activities

o Groups, Webinars, Teleconferences

Alliance of Women Coaches

Ideas/thoughts to move forward

No relation between flexible leave and return rates

Getting girls into sports: development of female athletes

Individual sport association efforts

Future of Title IX

Beyond the NCAA

122 Professional

Teams

NBA

1 head, 4-6 assistants

MLB

6 coaches

1 manager

NHL

At least 4 coaches

NFL

18 coaches

1,000+ positions total

Resources