Gender Bias Issues in Coaching - Research Paper Example

? GENDER BIAS IN COACHING A. Person’s concept of “lack of opportunity, lack of administrative positions and lack of coverage in women’s sports” A gender bias that I have been aware of and have experienced is gender typing or generalization. To apply it to logic, it is, of course, a fallacy, but in sports it has become a fact and an accepted truth. As they say, once a lie is repeated many times over, it becomes a truth, no matter how false that truth is. It will side with the truth and may be called truth, but it will always remain a lie. According to Person (2010), gender typing is ‘attributing a person’s qualities, characteristics, attributes, or behaviour because of gender’. And there are generalizations. “Females don’t make good coaches” is one of those generalizations. Because there are not enough coaches in sports, it is generally taken that women are not good coaches. The common perception and the common language create a gender bias for women coaches. People are still not treated equal, same with women, and more with women coaches, no matter what kind of sports. Men have this stereotypical bias that they are stronger than women, physically and mentally. All this is grounded in men’s belief systems, that is why it is very difficult to be a coach, even though the male coach is for a feminine sport. We have been living in a patriarchal society since the beginning of time. It has always been that way and, perhaps, may not change rapidly – the way society will deal with women and women coaches and the way people consider gender. What is perceived is different – or the opposite – as compared to what is written; the law is not always followed, but what people think is what is being observed and done. And what is right – that men are far more superior than women and that they should have more in law and in benefits? Person (2010) says that there is the traditional wisdom that women are only for feminine sports like gymnastics or cheerleading and that they should not engage in ‘high physical contact’ sports and activities. A law was passed in 1972, known as Title IX of the Educational Amendments, which granted women rights to play in all sports. Title IX protects the rights of students and employees from discrimination based on gender. Person (2010) indicated that while Title IX provides equal opportunity for women in sports, it does not provide equal opportunity in specific sports. For example, while there is no women equivalent for American football, women are provided options to consider other sports like volleyball or hockey which, according to Person, does not mean equality as ‘options do not mean equal’. Women coaches for feminine sports are also discriminated. Another stereotyping is that female coaches are lesbians. This is clear gender bias. There are even some women who think that way. So, it is no surprise that men have that perception and feeling. People look at the outside appearance and not the qualities of the job the person has been hired. Since the woman coach is seen that way, it would be hard for administrators and supervisors to give them benefits or raise their salaries. B. Men coaches are paid higher than women coaches If people were given the chance of evading the truth or playing with the law, they would do this in artistic and creative ways. I thought that, as regards the university and the students’ sports world, people should be concerned of improving their skills and pursuing excellence in their talents. But later I realized, after reading about women and equality, that there’s much to be done aside from pursuing excellence. Laws promoting equality have been perfected, but their implementation has been ignored. Despite the provision of Title IX for equality between men and women coaches, the fact remains that men coaches are paid much more than women. According to Tyler (2012), schools and universities tried to play it around Title IX by showing that the pay for coaches of women’s teams has been dramatically increased with respect to their previous pay. But the data from the Department of Education shows that the pay for coaches of men’s teams was much higher than that of the women’s coaches. This shows that there is still discrimination and bias in the context of salaries for coaches of men’s and women’s sports. (Tyler, 2012) There were two laws violated by these actuations of schools and universities: the Title IX legislation of 1972 and the Equal Pay Act of 1983. According to Tyler, if the median salaries of these men’s and women’s coaches were solved, it would appear that the women’s coaches were far behind the men’s coaches. This violation is also a concern of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, because coaches’ salaries in schools and universities should be gender-neutral, they should not discriminate on the basis of gender. It was noted in a study by the EEOC that women coaches were confined to coaching women, while men coaches were coaching both men and women. The basis of their actions is that men can always do better than women. (The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 1997) The basis of their actions is that men can always do better than women. C. Athletes’ perception Williams and Parkhouse (as cited in Frankl & Babbitt, 1998) conducted a study on gender bias towards female coaches, specifically on athletes’ perception of their coaches. The study focused on female high school varsity basketball players who were asked their preference between a hypothetical male or female coach. The results indicated that most of the students preferred a male coach. Even in the case wherein an unsuccessful male or female coach was asked, 40 percent of female athletes preferred an unsuccessful male coach. Another study conducted by Weinberg, Reveles, and Jackson (as cited in Frankl & Babbitt, 1998) resulted in the male athletes preferring male coaches and the female athletes preferring female coaches. In another study, it was found that male and female athletes believed that male coaches could achieve more successes for their teams than female coaches. The studies can give us an already known perception that males are for males and females for females, and the traditional belief of stronger male over female athletes. Greater negative gender bias is attained over female coaches handling both male and female athletes. D. Gender variations in coaching Ellis and Masterson (2007) conducted a study on 18 schools participating in four sports in the NCAA. The four sports were basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer, and the researchers used the NCAA website to retrieve data. From the start, we can detect the disparity. The schools and athletic teams had only 9 women coaches, and men coached 75% of the athletic teams. There is another revealing ‘truth’ in the study – athletic directorship is also dominated by men. Ellis and Masterson (2007) quoted an article from Women’s Sports and Fitness, which said that when the male directors were looking for applicants for the women’s sports programs, they turned to their network of friends who were mostly male. Female coaches are severely discriminated in this aspect. It reveals an astounding fact: a female coach can not be so successful in her career, and if she is still starting out as a coach, she would not have enough female guidance. Ellis and Masterson (2007) further commented that work and life balance for women coaches could not be so much observed. Women coaches have children and sometimes they have to choose between family and career. This could be the reason why there are more men than women coaches. Women do not have the support from the school authorities and from a network of women coaches, because there is no network. Work-life balance must be addressed. Women would choose family over coaching, and often they are confronted with that question. Men are not confronted with the question of choice, because they feel that coaching belongs to them and that women should stay at home and raise kids. E. A clear example of discrimination because of gender A specific example of gender bias is posted in an article by Schrotenboer (2008), who cited California State University coach Courtney Bale. Bale filed a suit in the San Diego Superior Court against the California State University Board of Trustees, alleging that her salaries could not be raised because she was a woman who coached women’s sports. To make matters worse, the SDSU hired a male coach and after a year raised his salary to $41,000, way above Bale’s salary of $32,000. Bale had been a coach with the SDSU for five years. From the start, there was discrimination, and it seemed SDSU was playing around on Bale’s performance. Bale received an unfavourable performance assessment from SDSU director of strength and conditioning, Jon Francis. But Bale countered that the coaches she had worked with had rated her “excellent”. She also complained that her computer, which she inherited from Francis, was filled with pornography materials. Bale was not the only coach seeking justice against SDSU. There were other former coaches filing cases of sex discrimination, mistreatment, and mismanagement against SDSU authorities. This case can tell us that women are always the victims and that those working in a man’s world are facing an uphill climb for equality, which they cannot attain, perhaps, in their lifetime. If only something could be done to erase these misconceptions of men being superior, if only laws were strictly followed, then we would be able to move forward and say that that there is equality. But if there is no equality in simple salaries for both sexes when the law mandates no discrimination, then the road ahead is rough and thorny. F. The gap continues Plato’s Republic would tell us that if women would want to be equal with men, they must have the same training and educational background. If they are taught in gymnastics and music, they must also be taught the art of war. Along this line of thought, we can say that if men receive billions of dollars for sports from the annual budget, so must the women. Kadzielski (1982, p. 95) indicated that after the implementation of Title IX, the representation of women in sports when it comes to performance, participation, and the share in the budget, has tremendously increased. Before Title IX, colleges and universities spent only about 2 percent for women’s sports from a budget of about half a billion dollars. The percentage now has reached about 16 percent (Kadzielski, 1982, p. 95). But the gap still remains, which means that equality has not yet been established. There are few women coaches and sports officials to provide their skills and talents to our women’s teams. It’s time that the authorities, and I mean the school authorities and the government people, look at this problem of addressing the lack of women coaches in universities and athletic teams. Women coaches are not fully supported by university administrations and athletic teams. There is also the general perception that coaching belongs to men and career paths for coaching are supported by the authorities and by ‘the system’. The age-old problem of sexual equality and elimination of discrimination of women has remained. We can go back to our first assumption that laws are no good if they are not effective or if they are not properly implemented and the authorities are the ones violating. G. More lawsuits asking for gender equality Grounds for filing of lawsuits involved sports teams being cut or excluded from the budget, women’s sports club being downgraded and women coaches receiving lower salaries and benefits. Most of the complainants/plaintiffs were women, but there were also men suing for discrimination. An example of a successful case is that filed by Sanya Tyler, a basketball coach of Howard University, who complained that she was underpaid. The jury awarded Tyler $1.1 million in damages. The National Organization for Women California Chapter sued all twenty university campuses invoking the 1976 California Education Code. An out-of-court settlement forced the universities to implement the law and provide equal opportunities and funding for women’s sports. Women athletes from Brown University also used Title IX for budget cuts in athletics, and the decisions were in the athletes’ favour. The case has reached the U.S. Supreme Court. (“Taking the Law Into our own Hands”, 2012) Why is there a barrage of lawsuits invoking Title IX? The answer is simple. It’s not being implemented, or schools and universities are doing their time providing excuses. Schools and universities are bound under the law not to discriminate in sports on the basis of gender. I thought school authorities are the promoters of truth and justice. But where is justice here? And why are school authorities the primary violators of the laws promoting equality between men and women? Is it because school administrations are led by men? Precisely! But school administrations should be composed of men and women, who should have the will to promote justice and equality. H. Gender effects after Title IX Although Title IX encouraged women to participate in sports and come out in the open or air their complaints against discrimination, female coaches and female coach officials have decreased in number (Casey as cited in Graf & Konoske, 1999). Again, sports officials have their way of playing around with the law, because one of the reasons for the decrease is that they merged the men’s and women’s athletic departments in reaction to the imposition of Title IX. This means most of the jobs were given to men – 85% of athletic administrative positions and 50% of coaching positions (Walzer as cited in Graf & Konoske, 1999). The positive effect of Title IX is that women coaches are encouraged to voice their complaints and many have been successful, as the courts have ruled in their favour. But there is the problem of satisfaction at work or the question of work-life balance for the women coaches. Caccese and Mayerberg (as cited in Graf & Konoske, 1999) reported a high burnout for the female coaches, and one of the reasons could be “low degree of job satisfaction” (Parkhouse and Williams as cited in Graf & Konoske, 1999). Sex biases and discrimination issues continue to flood the literature on women in sports. I can only surmise that this will not stop unless all sectors of society are one in providing full support to the fight against discrimination of women. But when will this happen? This will not happen for as long as a great portion of society continues to have the traditional belief that men are more powerful than women, that women are the weaker sex, that men and women are not created equal. References Ellis, J., & Masterson, G. (2007). Gender variations in coaching jobs. Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FIH/is_3_77/ai_n27419857/ Frankl, D., & Babbitt, D. (1998). Gender bias: a study of high school track & field athletes’ perceptions of hypothetical male and female head coaches. Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6401/is_4_21/ai_n28716569/ Graf, R., & Konoske, P. (1999). Gender effects in the evaluation of high school basketball officials. Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6401/is_3_22/ai_n28736744/ Kadzielski, M. (1982). Legal approaches to sex discrimination in amateur athletics: the first decade. In R. Waicukauski (Ed.), Law & amateur sports (pp. 95-113). Indiana: Center for Law & Sports, Indiana University School of Law. Person, E. (2010). Gender bias in American sports: lack of opportunity, lack of administrative positions and lack of coverage in women’s sports. Retrieved from http://thesportdigest.com/archive/article/gender-bias-american-sports-lack-opportunity-lack-administrative-positiqons-and-lack-coverage Schrotenboer, B. (2008). Aztecs coach files gender-bias suit: complaint against CSU Board is third in past 10 months. Retrieved from http://www.utsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080916/news_1s16azsuit.html Taking the law into our own hands. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.customessaymeister.com/customessays/Term%20Papers/1690.htm The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (1997). EEOC notice. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/coaches.html Tyler, G. (2012). The pay gap grows between men and women coaches. Retrieved from http://thesportdigest.com/2012/04/the-pay-gap-grows-between-men-and-women-coaches/ Read More