The answer to this question starts with understanding the history of gender norms in youth sport. Early gender norms in youth sport defined men as leaders and experts and women as administrative helpers. This has created a culture where men make up over 74% of head coaches in youth athletics and are twice as often as women coaching the opposite sex.
The current statistics are disheartening, with only 4 of the top 8 men’s sports at the collegiate level having any female coaches, and women consistently catching up less than half the head coach for women’s teams and less than 5% for men’s teams. To make matters worse, a poll of NBA and NFL fans showed that 31% states that female coaches are less qualified than their male counterparts and 30% said male athletes do not respect them.
So how do we create change? One way is to prioritize the recruitment and training of women coaches. Programs like Women Coaches LA and We Coach offer training and recruitment for female coaches for girls’ sports. The same should be replicated for boys’ sport. Creating a supportive and positive environment for new and experienced trainers would increase their likelihood of volunteering long-term.
In addition, we need to create a culture that is welcoming and supportive of female coaches. Parents need to be encouraged to step up and volunteer as coaches, and male coaches need to be supportive of their female counterparts. Only then will we start to see a shift in the gender balance of youth sport coaches.