Paper

Managing sexism experienced by female athletes in sport

A. Introduction

Based on the wide research that has informed this topic, it is a critical thing to examine the female experiences of either overt and subtle sexism in sport industry, particularly in athletics and together with the impact of the very experiences on their careers and future lives. While looking at the various instances and literature regarding their male counterparts working in professional sports league, some of the critical findings point to the fact that the culture of sports organization is significantly one of the factors which perpetuates sexism (Schrödter et al., 2021). According to the recent survey, it has been reported that almost 78 percent of the female athletes are self-conscious with regards to their body image, and it is supposedly one of the factors that can be based upon considering the sexist trolling they endure both in the organizations and on social media. For instance, upon being known as the first British swimmer to win two Olympic godl medals from 1908 at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Rebecca Adlington ought to have arrived home to a hero’s welcome (Schrödter et al., 2021). While testifying to her stylist, she recounted on how the people she thought as her fans ended up focusing only on trolling her and proclaiming heneous sexists sentiments regarding her body. It was no longer her performance in in the pool, or her swimming abilities, it was all about her body, the figure she had to have a model to be a perfectly accepted swimmer. Many people even commented personifying her to whale or dolphin just becauses they are first swimmers, even the renown comedian took it to mainstream on Mock The Week, saying that she “looks like someone who’s looking at themselves in the back of a spoon.” In fact, this joke by Frankie Boyle increased the trolling this lady had to endure for a long time. It is upon such instances that this paper chose to focus on sexism as it is experienced by female athletes in sports all over the world and see on ways of how to manage it. It is therefore, critical to teach about the current female athletes who made history on and off the court or fields through intense lessons involving both gender even in classrooms.

B. Paper purpose

The purpose is fundamentally to teach the young female athletes about their legendary predecessors who made history on and off the court and field. It is a fact that in sports and all its entire diversity, women are still the minority. Elite sport is progressively setting men far apart from women. For instance, the men’s decathlon is a game that is always being contested in the Olympics since in the early 1912. Despite that there is some place at championships for women’s events, men are taking part in almost five sets at Tennis Grand Slams, but women can only compete over three sets.

There are also equally critical gender gaps, particularly looking at the number of ladies who are participating in sport- we have almost 1.5 million fewer women than men who are taking part in sports at least once a month. There is also some apparent gender gaps especially when looking at the number of women who are working in sport at almost every level. Women for some of these biases and other sexists reasons are only 18 percent of the ones considered as qualified coachs and only half of that percentage meaning 9 percent are considered as senior coaches. For about 49 percent or half of the publicly funded national governing bodies, less than a qaurter of their board are considered to be women. This is the tragedy women are grappling with. Under-representation in critical positions, and even the few who are represented in such positions, sexism and sexists issues does not allow them to work more productively.

Although a lot of work is seemingly needed to be done, there are some initiatives that are now working to ensure that there is equality of opportunity through emphasizing the need of getting more women and ladies to participate in sports, particularly athletics. Many women who are working in sports at all level and through their drive on commercial investments, there should some of the deliberate efforts put in place to ensure that both girls and women who are are engaging in athletic sports are granted or receive equal respect and treatments as their male counter-parts.

C. Paper Focus

The major diversity topic here is management of sexism experienced by female athletes in sport. Correlating diversity theory with the herein purpose, it is critical not from the onset that the cognitive diversity approach indicates that various perspectives emanating from the cultural differences between group or organizational members is likely to bring about creativity in solving problems and innovating.

First, women who might be aware of the fact that the sports industry needs diversity training with managers throughout could be more procedural and can be less likely to be discriminated against as compared to the one who might learn that the industry is offering non-diversity related training (Ansari et al., 2016). Secondly, the same design can be leveraged, but women in this case should be more aware that the industry is indeed discriminating against women. In this case, those who will learn that the company is providing diversity training would quite procedural, and this is likely to make them less supportive of sexism related cases against the company. To the very degree that diversity structures are capable of legitimizing the fairness of the sports organization, they are also likely to make it more hard for the marginalized groups like women to detect and remedy the challenges or discrimination.

The contemporary studies are assessing how the mere presence of diversity structures can potentially influence the perceptions of women regarding the procedural justice and dicrimination when they are potentially the victims of sexisms and they are on the receiving end of all that filth. To the degree that women, despite their personal divergences in the endorsements of beliefs that are held to legitmize the status hierarchy, suggestively permits the illusion of faireness, these contemporary studies are bound to offer some of the crucial insights into how the diversity structures are shaping the experiences of women. Women are indeed the groups which are currently occupying about 47 percent of the workforce in the United States (Schrödter et al., 2021). For that reason, it is worthwhile to introduce an axiom suggesting that the presence versus the absence of a diveritty structure would potentially render these women to believe the fact that a company could be potentially procedurally just for them, even in the presence of the evidence that such organizations are treated them unfairly. Similarly, the other angle of this axiom can be that the presence of a diversity structure would potentially render women to perceive the company to be less discriminatory toward them, and supposedly to be less supportive of the litigations which are touching on the matters of sexism.

The prediction here therefore can be that these perceptions of procedural justice would potential mediate the impacts of diversity structures on the very perceived discrimination and support for the litigations which are related to sexism. Therefore, diversity aspects when it comes to managing sexism on women in sports would herald to women that their sporting facility procedures are only fair for them, or their group, and as result this would lower the sensitivity of sexism (Schrödter et al., 2021). This is a prediction which is quite in semblance or in agreement with some studies on legitimacy highlighting the fact that peiople are often agreeing with the unfair outcomes supposing they have the belief that the very outcomes are as a result of fair procedures. A lot as diversity structures can result into high stutu factions to legitimize inequality (Schrödter et al., 2021). Some studies still can suggest that diversity structures or just diversity in this case may potentially result into some low status groups to legitimize unfair treatment experienced by their own group. Perhaps this may be the reason why many women who are being molested by these sexism issues do not get the courage to come out and report these issues, only a handful does.

But of critical to consider is that diversity structures have caused the entire women league in the athlete sports somehow to legitimize inequality, not only the ones who chronically legitimize inequality- like the ones who profoundly endorse status legitimizing beliefs (Schrödter et al., 2021). The impact diverges from the other findings of the other research which are assessing the effect of diversity on the ethnic minorities’ perceptions of discrimination and procedural justice.

To be more particularly, taking the instance of the Latinos, diversity perspective alludes to the legitimization of response only from the people who chronically legitimize inequality (Schrödter et al., 2021). My suggestion here is that relative to low status racial/ethnic minority factions like Latinos, women in the sporting athletics can be more likely to legitimize inequality against their group due to their particularly deep independence with their respective high status group, who are men. These very divergent propositions among the disadvantaged groups are suggestive of the fact that generalizing one one low status faction to the next can potentially yield an inaccuarte and incomplete understanding of how low status groups might be responding to the disadvantage. Therefore, the context of the groups’ oppression must be regarded as one of the most fundamental determinants in the way different low status groups are likely to get and respon to discrimination.

D. Audience

The focus of this topic is on the female athletes who are often the victims of the more overt sexism in sports than other groups. In effect, female athletes, based on the prevailing and the contemporary authoritative definition, as persons who have to be deficient in naturally occurring chemicals that are critical to an athlete. With lack of this deficiency, such a female is deemed to be of unfair advantage. However, sports has the potential of transforming lives. The ability of driving gender equality through teaching women and girls teamwork, resilience, self-reliance and confidence. Women in athletic sports ought to defy gender stereotypes and social norms, and establish their inspiring role models, while showing men and women as equals.

E. Diversity Theory

Here the focus is about cognitive diversity hypothesis and the focus is on the meso level. It is so because at this level, the women would be able to understand that indeed training is not the only thing that is required for a female to survive the entire sporting industry structures (Hindman & Walker, 2020). Women joining sporting activities like athletics must be particularly alert to establish their personal-development plan that might incorporate the areas not fully provided by the structures of the industry.

On that very vein, we can acknowledge the fact many theories relevant to management of diverse workforce focus on a person’s reactions like the categorization and examination of the attributes of others to people who are divergent from others. Many attempts have been put forth in an effort to try explaining how diversity is either good or bad to the organizational results.

Some studies have even indicated that diversity has no link to group performance, and some indicating that there is a link. Of the latter research, some indicates a negative correlation like greater diversity result into poor performance, but less diversity connotes better group performance and others are showing positive connection (Hindman & Walker, 2020). These diverse findings can be a result of the difference in how diversity can affect group members. Cognitive theory is referring to differences between team members in attributes like expertise, experiences and perspectives.

Equally, most of the researchers have agreed that physical diversity attributes like race, age, or sex, which can also be called bio-demographic diversity, is positively correlated with performance because team members are capable of contributing to unique cognitive attributes based on their experiences and such can also emanate from their demographic background (Hindman & Walker, 2020). Other studies also supports the link between group performance and task-related diversity as reflected in the attributes not readily detectable like ability, occupational expertise, or even education. But, the link between bio-demographic diversity and group performance has yielded mixed outcomes

F. Research

From the onset that the cognitive diversity approach indicates that various perspectives emanating from the cultural differences between group or organizational members is likely to bring about creativity in solving problems and innovating. Two tests have can be advanced to test the hypothesis that the mere absence or presence of diversity structures is perhaps making it more hard for women to detect sexism. First, women who might be aware of the fact that the sports industry needs diversity training with managers throughout could be more procedural and can be less likely to be discriminated against as compared to the one who might learn that the industry is offering non-diversity related training (Ansari et al., 2016). Secondly, the same design can be leveraged, but women in this case should be more aware that the industry is indeed discriminating against women. In this case, those who will learn that the company is providing diversity training would procedural and this is likely to make them less supportive of sexism related cases against the company (Hindman & Walker, 2020). To the very degree that diversity structures are capable of legitimizing the fairness of the sports organization, they are also likely to make it more hard for the marginalized groups like women to detect and remedy the challenges or discrimination.

For instance, the study that Watson conducted together with his colleagues was to compare a group performance between culturally homogenous and culturally heterogeneous groups. With the findings, there is a suggestion that although the homogenous groups might at first outperform culturally diverse groups, overtime the diverse groups are to benefit from a wider range of perspectives to choose from while solving a problem. On the basis of the cognitive diversity hypotheses, the benefits accruals herein are coming from diverse perspectives which are generated by the culturally diverse groups (Ansari et al., 2016). But on the other hand, it actually takes time for members of diverse groups to work together in an effective manner because of their unfamiliarity with one another, this is perhaps the explanation as to why homogenous groups would outperform heterogeneous groups in the very initial stages of group functioning (Ansari et al., 2016). Perhaps this could be a perfect explanation that when women in athletics are put in to perform on their own then they are likely to do better than when men are around them. Men would most likely introduce the sexism in and pursue goals which might be opposite to the major objective of the organization.

G. Relationship

Here, would talk about the hegemony between the privileged masculine high groups within the sporting industry versus the underrepresented feminine female in the industry and how this relationship affect the women, particularly in athletics. Although a lot of work is seemingly needed to be done, there are some initiatives that are now working to ensure that there is equality of opportunity through emphasizing the need of getting more women and ladies to participate in sports, particularly athletics (Ansari et al., 2016). Many women who are working in sports at all level and through their drive on commercial investments, there should some of the deliberate efforts put in place to ensure that both girls and women who are are engaging in athletic sports are granted or receive equal respect and treatments as their male counter-parts.

H. Conclusion and Recommendation

I would suggest that sexism is a nightmare for women in sporting industry, and this is partly because the high status groups in these organization have this thought that diversity structures is indeed making such environments fair allowing them to be positive about their own and of their peer’s achievements. This not only legitimizes their group’s privileged status in the sporting hierarchy, but it also breed forth somewhat an imbalance system where the low groups have no means to advocate against their discriminations. The finding that diversity structures within sporting industry can potentially induce high status groups to perceive organizations as fair to overlook discrimination against low status groups is quite in agreement with the theoretical standpoints on legitimacy. When creating perspectives concerning legitimacy of sporting institutions and authorities, most individuals are likely to be more persuaded by the presence of what seems to be fair procedures but overlook the criticality of the results produced by the very procedures. At the same time, the system justification theory suggest that because some individuals are incentivized to think their social systems as fair and legitimate, they are likely to deviate their focus on the unfair results making the system to be a nightmare for vulnerable lots like the women.

I. References