Implementing Gender Equity Policies in a University Sport Organization: Competing Discourses from Enthusiasm to Resistance

ABSTRACT

Gender policies in sports have expanded considerably in most countries in recent decades. Nevertheless, the implementation of these policies in sports organizations is by no means an automatic process. This article explores what happens when gender equity policies are applied in an university sports organization. Participatory action research over a four-year period was developed by the authors to increase the participation of women, and it also aimed to explore the perceptions and thoughts of key actors regarding equity actions. The analysis shows the participation numbers in the specific promotional campaign and reveals a wide range of responses among staff, ranging from enthusiasm and interest to resistance and fear. Gender equity actions often encounter resistance which cannot, and should not, be ignored. This article highlights certain forms of resistance that proposals of this kind should be prepared for.

KEYWORDS:

• Change
• discourses
• equity
• gender
• participation action research

Funding

This work was supported by the Institut Català de les Dones (Catalan Women’s Institute) (2006); the Observatori de la Igualtat de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Autonomous University of Barcelona’s Observatory of Equality) (2006); the Departament d’Innovació, Universitat i Empresa de la Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Ministry of Innovation, Universities and Enterprise) (RDG Call, 2007); and the Institut Nacional d’Educació Física de Catalunya (INEFC) (National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia).