Sexism in sports. Many can argue that it is something that needs to drastically change. And some can argue that it’s not a real thing. But the truth is that many women actually face sexism and even sexual harassment in sports, especially in coaching environments.
From a survey conducted from the anti-discrimination charity, Kick It Out, 80 percent of a total of 115 women had experienced a form of misogyny or sexism while in a coaching environment. And more than half of the women admitted that they had even considered quitting because of it.
Kick It Out aims to provide resources and tackle these subjects, so the Chief Operating Officer of the charity, Hollie Varney, was very surprised to see such high numbers.
Varney stated, “at a time of huge growth for the women’s game, it’s alarming that over half of the coaches surveyed said they’d thought about quitting because of sexism they’d experienced. Many of the women we spoke to shared a passion and love for coaching but also talked about the exhaustion that came from being regularly undermined, questioned, and overlooked in the coaching environment.”
Another woman spoke out and shared her own experiences while she was coaching. She experienced what she called “a sliding scale of sexism”, in which she would have verbal and physical assaults aimed towards her, perpetuated by other, male coaches. At other times, they would just completely ignore her and find the nearest male to talk to.
She felt very uncomfortable in those situations and hopes that no other female coach will have to feel that.
“I was trying to make a career. I wanted a career as a football coach. I wanted to make it my full-time job. I wanted to impress and I wanted to do the right thing. And it’s very difficult to say no to people in power”, she said.
“I do encourage girls and women to take up coaching because hopefully together, we can create those environments [that] I wish I had [had] when I started my coaching journey.
“Because actually there is a really strong, healthy, supportive network of women coaches out there and we’re not alone and we can support each other.”
Just because there are a few people in this world that make it their job to undermine women – whether it be a man or a woman doing it – doesn’t mean that it’s too late to recognize it and make a change. By noticing microaggressions sooner, or helping out a woman when you see someone making her job difficult solely because she is a female, you can help her feel supported and heard. Sexual harassment – and just sexism – needs to stop in sports, especially in coaching environments.
Works Cited
“Female former football coach says ‘sliding scale of sexism’ led to her quitting the game.” BBC, 7 March 2024, https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/68497155. Accessed 11 March 2024.
“Free stock photo of ball, field, football images, goal, grass, sky, soccer pictures, soccer ball, sunrise, sunset.” Pexels, 26 June 2016, https://www.pexels.com/photo/sky-sunset-field-sunrise-114296/. Accessed 11 March 2024.