Gender and the Coaching Profession

Abstract

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 for restructuring the workplace to make the climate more favorable for women coaches.