Whitson and Macintosh (1989) Gender & power: explanations of gender inequalities in Canadian national sport organisations

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Gender & power: explanations of gender inequalities in Canadian national sport organisations

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CONTRIBUTORS:

	Author:	Whitson, D. (University of Alberta)
	Author:	Macintosh, D. (Queen's University at Kingston)

JOURNAL:

International Review for the Sociology of Sport (IRSS), 24(2), 137 - 150.

YEAR:

1989

PUB TYPE:

Journal Article

SUBJECT(S):

administration; association; sport; Canada; woman; professional; career; homemaker

DISCIPLINE:

Recreation, Sports & Leisure Studies

HTTP:

https://secure.sportquest.com/su.cfm?articleno=241256&title=241256

LANGUAGE:

English

PUB ID:

103-335-543 (Last edited on 2002/02/27 18:43:42 US/Mountain)

SPONSOR(S):

ABSTRACT:
This paper seeks to theorise change and resistance to change in contemporary gender relations as these are manifest in Canadian national sport organisations. Interviews which sought to explore why women were under-represented in senior technical, administrative, and volunteer positions pointed to lack of qualifications and family responsibilities as the two most widely perceived reasons. As many respondents argued though, these phenomena themselves are rooted in structures of gender relations which transcend sport. The final section considers theories which seek to explain these deeper structures, and argues that the evidences supports a theory based on the analysis of power and conflict. Uses six national sport organizations (NSOs), chosen from a larger survey of Canadian NSOs, as a source of data to study the success and failure of women to reach senior administrative levels, and in particular, the reasons why official attempts at change have been retarded. Conducts personal interviews (n=56) with top-level administrative staff, key voluntary board and executive members, prominent current and ex-athletes, and Sport Canada consultants. Explains the reasons for a pronounced bias in favour of men over women in top positions in terms of qualifications and family relations. States that gender relations which lie beyond sport, in the work and career structures of the public world, make it difficult for women to combine a career with primary domestic responsibility. Presents two theories on gender relations: role theory, which depends on sex-role socialization, and the theory of gender domination. Suggests that the latter theory explains the organizational practices and resistance to change found in the NSOs.

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