Abstract
ABSTRACTPurpose: The purpose of this basic qualitative study is to understand the career challenges and supports that women experience while establishing careers in executive leadership positions within collegiate athletics. Additionally, the study analyzed how feminist theory can help identify solutions to overcoming existing barriers for women in the industry.
Theoretical Framework: Feminist theory was chosen as the theoretical framework for the study as it not only addresses gender discrimination against women but also influences leadership and social change across organizations. Utilizing the feminist theory framework in this study allowed study participants to share the stories from their individually unique lived experiences and provide counter-narratives that more accurately reflect and illuminate the barriers presented to women within collegiate athletics. Feminist theory is one of the few theories to be developed for and by women, while the feminist methodology allows for researchers to understand how systems of gender stratification arise, reproduce themselves and change while not conforming to collective blinders established by white males.
Methodology: This study explored the barriers that women in executive leadership positions within collegiate athletics experience while establishing careers in the industry by utilizing a basic qualitative study.
Findings and Conclusion: Findings from this study identified that women executive leaders in collegiate athletics experienced barriers; representation, cultural and societal norms, personal expectations, and supports; networking, mentorship, personal and professional development, and breakthroughs that impact their unique individual experiences while establishing their careers within the industry. The identified supports serve to counteract and hopefully eliminate the identified barriers that women experience in collegiate athletics. Additionally, this study contributed to the development of the Barriers to Women in Leadership Cycle, which serves to challenge and eliminate identified barriers identified by this study.
Recommendations: It would be highly beneficial to expand this study to include women of all leadership levels across collegiate athletics to identify additional barriers. Few studies have focused on understanding a woman’s unique and individual experiences in male-dominated industries, and even fewer have given women the platform to speak freely regarding their experiences and impact lasting change while doing so. Research centered on amplifying women’s voices across male-dominated industries at all levels could be highly beneficial in continuing to identify and eliminate barriers presented to women in such industries.