About this Research Topic

Background

There has been a huge growth in women’s sports participation but a parallel increase in women in coaching and leadership positions in sport is not evident. Although the Olympic Charter states the importance of ‘implementing the principle of equality of men and women’ [IOC, 1996], the percentage of female coaches remains extremely low at all levels of sport, particularly in performance sport coaching and leadership. Of course, this is a complex issue that requires attention through a biopsychosocial lens, an approach that marks a move away from a focus on gender disparity towards a consideration of the factors, and probable solutions, to supporting women in coaching and leadership.

The goal of this Research Topic is to bring together a collection of the most recent thinking that promotes our understanding and knowledge about women in coaching and leadership in sport. Reflecting this, we call for interdisciplinary research addressing the experiences of women in coaching and leadership as well as research that focuses on organizational, cultural, and systematic factors that underpin this area. We encourage researchers to reflect on the practical context lived by women in coaching and leadership so that research can bring novel insights to inform future practice at the individual, organizational, and system levels. As such, research that focuses on the impact of women in coaching and leadership in sport on athletes, participants, and performance outcomes is also welcomed to support evidence-informed recommendations and guidelines.

Original research, as well as reviews, systematic reviews, or analyses, on topics including, but not limited to the below list, are welcome:
• Opportunities and challenges for women in coaching
• Representation of women in coaching
• Female coaches working in high-performance sport
• Female coaches working in participation sport
• Female coaches' experience in coach education and development
• Cultural factors impacting women in coaching and leadership
• Experiences of females in leadership positions in sport
• Athletes and stakeholder perceptions of females in coaching and leadership
• Career development of women in coaching and leadership
• Methodological approaches, designs, and gaps in research in this area

Keywords: high-performance sport, career development, female coaches, gender gap, leadership

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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