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A focus into the history, leadership and political issues of Women in Sport

Introduction! The women in sport status is an ongoing topic of interest, and for as long as we can remember the gap between males and females, both on and off the sporting field has been evident. Throughout this presentation we are going to recap on significant moments in history, current leadership problems and solutions, and finally touch on one of the biggest political issues surrounding women in sport – Body Image.

History Throughout the 18th & 19 th century women’s sport was practically non existent. Leisure activities such as marbles, puzzles and skipping were the only forms of ‘sports’ that women were allowed or accepted to play. It was shown, that in those days women playing sport was both ‘unladylike’ and potentially dangerous to their reproductive lives (Stell, 1991).

During the mid 18 hundreds swimming became popular, and many women soon became drawn to this new and exciting era. However as you would expect from those early days males and females were forbidden to share the swimming pool and therefore had separate days and times in which they could occupy the facilities. As expected again, women did not receive equal time, and to stick with the ‘fashion’ of that era they were required to wear neck to knee woollen costumes (Stell, 1991). .

As time past through the 1930’s more and more women were pushing through the sporting world and creating a new wave of confidence. They begin forming lobby groups to help aid and support the women in sport status. These groups were run by women for women (Rostkowska,2007).

Between 1950 & 1970 is when women in sport really took off. It was era that produced the likes of Heather McKay and Margaret Court (Hums, 2007)

These women made a name for themselves in their chosen sports of squash and tennis, and still to this day current athletes get compared and judge against these empowering and successful female athletes (Hums, 2007).

It was through this era in 1968 that women had finally made history and stamped their name in the international sporting books (Stell,1991).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj-ZBl6KCZ0

Enriqueta Basilio In 1968 Enriqueata Basilio made history when she was the first female athlete to ever light the Olympic Cauldron (Stell,1991).

It is now a new era for Australian women, which started in 1984! The opening of the Australian Institute of sport in Canberra was the chance for women to train with the best, and to help further develop their talent and skills along side male athletes. Thanks to the AIS we have produced some of the finest and most success female athletes in the world! (Commission,2011)

Leadership for Women in the Sporting Industry Women have made tremendous strides, entering the sporting industry as coaches, managers and physiotherapist, however we are now seeing a major growth of women as CEO’s and general managers of our elite sporting bodies around the world (Hums,2007).

Do you recognise these women? Billie Jean King Babe Didrikson Anita DeFrantz

Well these women have emerged as not only great sporting athletes of their time but they have found themselves as advocates, coaches and top executives in the sporting industry throughout the United States (Hums,2007). Let’s now take a local look...

Seeing the success of these women is inspiring, however the success of women in these organisations as not always been the case and is still an issue today. In Germany for example, 34% of leadership roles are held by women and in Norway less than 20% of leading positions in the sporting industry are held by women (Stell,2007).

It is so important to have females in these higher government roles as it provides visible role models and enables a women’s voice. It opens the door for women to have a greater impact and influence in the sporting world (commission,2011). So what is Australia doing to help develop women’s involvement in the sporting sector?

The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) has developed financial grants called the ‘sport leadership grants’. There are many qualified, talented and experienced Australian women with the ability to positively contribute to the governance of organisations, however, have had limited opportunity to be considered for a senior position or a directorship. These grants provide women with enough financial support and guidance to help them get the qualifications, training and experience needed to help break into leadership roles (commission,2011).

Political Issues The best way to show you the issues involved in women in sport is simple.......

http://youtu.be/c0dCV0b6wGs Now did any part of that advertisement tell or show us that Stephanie Rice is an Olympic Gold Australian Athlete? Answer = NO, and that is the issue!

For the past decade female athletes both domestically and internationally have been portrayed in the media through their looks and body image. How the media portrays a particular sport or athlete can also impact on both the sport’s or the athlete’s credibility. With that in mind, we need to ask ourselves what sort of images of female athletes are commonly presented to readers, viewers and listeners. And how often do newspapers, magazines, television and radio devote the focus to the talent of women’s sport (commission,2008)?

Did you know that 45% of media attention towards female athletes is expressed in a sexual way (McCabe,2001). As we have seen Stephanie Rice is not promoted in the media for her talent. Yet she has won 3 Olympic gold medals? The media has used Steph not for talent but her looks. You wonder if she was less attractive would she get the media attention that she does?

As women, what do we want from the media? A level playing field and equal showcasing time. In 2008 these figures definitely show that the media has a long way to go in reaching the goal we as females want. 9% of all coverage done on sport was focused on women While 81% of all coverage on sport was focused on men (commission, towards a level playing field).

Is there anything being done about this issue? An organisation called Womensport Australia, which is a non- government organisation, is representing women and helping to improve the media coverage of women. They have initiated research that also helps further build the picture of media coverage of women’s sport. Their focus is not only aimed at National and International events, they also want to push for local and state competitive events to get the attention they deserve (commission).

Conclusion As shown, the women in sport topic is a very interesting and broad area within the business politics and sport subject. There are so many areas that could be addressed within women in sport, this particular presentation has focused on the history, the leadership involvement in the sporting industry and it also focused on political issues surrounding women in sport.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wGwlh5nKmU&feature=fvsr

References Commission, A. S. A history of women in Australian Sport . Retrieved October 11, 2011, from www.ausport.gov.au/participating/women/about/history Commission, A. S. About us . Retrieved October 19, 2011, from www.ausport.gov.au/aboutus Commission, A. S. Sport leadership for women . Retrieved October 11, 2011, from www.ausport.gov.au/participating/women/get_invovled/grants_and_scholarships Commission, A. S. (2008). Towards a level playing field. Canberra, ACT: Journalism & Media Research centre at the Australian Sports Commission. Hums, M. (2007). Women as Leaders in Sport: Impact and Influence. Oxon Hill, MD USA: AAHPERD Publishers. McCabe, M. (2001). Parents, Peers, and Media Influences on body image. 225-239. Rostkowska, E. (2007). Women and Sport. A historical outline and contemporary social and physiological issues , 169-174. Stell, M. (1991). Half the Race. North Ryde: Angus and Robertson Publishers. Stewart, B. (2004). Australian Sport: Better by design. Milton Park: Routledge Publishers. All pictures are from Google images

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