Promoting gender equity in sport science

Gendered norms, stereotypes and biases implicitly influence our thoughts, attitudes and behaviours. These often lead to gender inequity, a phenomenon inherent in society and reflected in its various contexts. The increasing awareness of this inequity is leading to reflection and changes in society as a whole and its communities, organisations and institutions. In scientific disciplines, gender inequity has been, and still is, a point of discussion and consideration. In many cases, these discussions have led to positive and sustainable changes at both a structural as well as a policy level. This opinion piece discusses gender inequity in the context of sport science and, in particular, sport medicine in Switzerland. Specifically, academic position (professorships), first authorship of peer-reviewed publications in the SEMS-Journal as well as conference participation and scientific awards in two Swiss sport science organisations: Sportwissenschaftliche Gesellschaft der Schweiz (SGS) and Sport & Exercise Medicine Switzerland (SEMS) in terms of frequency are presented and discussed. An under-representation of women is observed in most categories. Finally, recommendations for promoting and supporting equity while maintaining an objective consideration of quality criteria and individual ability are put forward using examples of good practice.

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathi N. Miner ◽  
Jessica M. Walker ◽  
Mindy E. Bergman ◽  
Vanessa A. Jean ◽  
Adrienne Carter-Sowell ◽  
...  

Increasing the representation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is one of our nation's most pressing imperatives. As such, there has been increased lay and scholarly attention given to understanding the causes of women's underrepresentation in such fields. These explanations tend to fall into two main groupings: individual-level (i.e., her) explanations and social-structural (i.e., our) explanations. These two perspectives offer different lenses for illuminating the causes of gender inequity in STEM and point to different mechanisms by which to gain gender parity in STEM fields. In this article, we describe these two lenses and provide three examples of how each lens may differentially explain gender inequity in STEM. We argue that the social-structural lens provides a clearer picture of the causes of gender inequity in STEM, including how gaining gender equity in STEM may best be achieved. We then make a call to industrial/organizational psychologists to take a lead in addressing the societal-level causes of gender inequality in STEM.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 14-29
Author(s):  
Kelly-Ann Allen ◽  
◽  
Kerryn Butler-Henderson ◽  
Andrea Reupert ◽  
Fiona Longmuir ◽  
...  

Historically, the professional structure of higher education has provided restricted employment, career, and leadership opportunities for women. This is exacerbated where there is an intersection between gender and race, culture, religion, or age. Women continue to be underrepresented in senior leadership positions across a range of disciplines, and this lack of representation of women within the professional structure of higher education itself acts as a barrier for more women reaching senior levels within institutions. More women are needed in higher positions to increase representation and visibility, and to encourage and mentor others to then aspire to follow a similar path. This critical review examines gender equity across the major career benchmarks of the academy in light of the impact of the personal contexts of women, systemic processes, and cultural barriers that hinder career progression. Research-based systemic solutions that work towards improved gender equity for women are discussed. The findings from this critical review highlight the need for global systemic change in higher education to create ethical equities in the employment, career, and leadership opportunities for women.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
Julia V. Furtado ◽  
António C. Moreira ◽  
Jorge Mota

Gender affirmative action (AA) in management remains a controversial topic among scholars, practitioners, and employees. While some individuals may support the use of AA policies as a means of increasing representation of women, others are not supportive at all, further understanding gender AA as an unacceptable violation of merit—even when targeted by it. With the aim of analyzing how scholars have approached the subject, we systematically reviewed 76 published articles (SCOPUS database), covering the extant literature on gender AA and management. Findings indicate a consensus regarding the common antecedents of attitudes towards gender AA with prior experiences with AA and diversity management (DM) (as well as general perceptions of AA). Performance and satisfaction appear as the predominant outcomes. In addition, while investigating the differences among AA, equal employment opportunity (EEO) and diversity management (DM), scholars are mainly focused on the effectiveness of AA as a means of increasing the inclusion of minorities in general. We conclude that despite marginal studies on employees’ attitudes toward gender AA, there is a gap in the literature, particularly an absence of research on the bivalent position of meritocracy (or merit violation) as both an antecedent and outcome of attitudes towards AA, which deserves further scrutiny.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon Cheng ◽  
Linnea Ng ◽  
Rachel C. E. Trump-Steele ◽  
Abby Corrington ◽  
Mikki Hebl

As Gardner, Ryan, and Snoeyink (2018) state, their findings on gender representation in industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology indicate that “the profession as a whole falls into the category of ‘not walking the talk’” (p. 385). We agree that it is imperative to understand the current state of gender inequity in our field while also actively working toward achieving gender equity. This article attempts to inspire each and every individual in I-O psychology to feel a personal responsibility to engage in behaviors that reduce gender disparities in our field. Although women are normatively the focus in fights for gender equity, men should be equal partners in these efforts. In this commentary, we focus on the contributions that male allies in I-O psychology can make in fostering gender equity. To be clear, we are not claiming that women need to be rescued by men; however, we do believe that I-O psychology can achieve the greatest progress toward gender equity when both women and men engage in supportive efforts. As Emma Watson said in her 2014 United Nations speech, “How can we affect change in the world when only half of it is invited or feel welcome to participate in the conversation?” (UN Women, 2014). In times when political leaders and national laws may fail women, it is crucial that local communities—like the I-O community—adopt a clear stance in promoting gender equity. In this commentary, we define allyship, discuss the importance of male allies, suggest ways in which male allies can help promote gender equity in I-O psychology, and consider potential barriers to male allyship and ways to overcome them. The strategies that we propose are by no means exhaustive; rather, they are suggestions for how to initiate a larger movement.


2018 ◽  
pp. 950-970 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Makoza

This article analyses how the representation of women legislators may affect the oversight of national ICT policy. The article uses Critical Mass Theory (CMT) to explain the composition of the Media and Communications Committee (MCC) of parliament. The case of Malawi is analysed, which represented a low-income economy in Africa. The article uses electoral reports and legislative documents. The results show that women legislators in the MCC achieved a critical mass despite the decrease in the representation of women in parliament. The women legislators have the opportunity to support gender issues related to ICT legislations and national ICT policy oversight. However, the functions of MCC related to national ICT policy oversight were not aligned with the gender equity strategies. This may affect the priority of gender issues in the policy oversight. The article contributes towards literature on national ICT policy oversight in the context of developing countries.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Astrid Sinnes

In this article I use feminist critique of science as a point of departure to discuss different understandingsof how sex/gender impacts on pupils’ approaches to science education. I construct a theoreticalframework that shows three different approaches to increase gender equity in science education. Eachapproach is grounded in a distinct understanding of how sex/gender impacts pupils’ engagementin science education. The analytical frame that is developed thereby represents descriptions of threealternative ways to address gender inequity in science education. The framework shows how differentunderstandings of how sex/gender impact on pupils’ engagement in science education require distinctinitiatives to increase gender equity. The framework can be used in the planning and analysis ofhow gender initiatives work to address gender inequity in science education.


2020 ◽  
pp. 228-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noelle Northcutt ◽  
Stephan Papp ◽  
Angela Keniston ◽  
Areeba Kara ◽  
Flora Kisuule ◽  
...  

Women continue to be underrepresented as speakers at national conferences, and research has shown similar trends in hospital medicine. The Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) Annual Meeting has historically had an open call peer review process for workshop speakers and, in 2019, expanded the process for didactic speakers. We aimed to assess the overall conference trends for women speakers and whether the systematic processes in recruitment procedures (ie, open call) resulted in improved representation of women speakers. We also sought to understand how the proportion of women speakers might affect overall scores of the conference. From 2015 to 2019, the overall representation of women speakers increased, as did evaluation scores during the same time period. When selection processes included the open call peer review process, there were higher proportions of women speakers. An open call process with peer review for speakers may be a systematic process that national meetings could replicate to reduce gender inequities.


Comprehensive and up to date, this textbook on children’s sport and exercise medicine features research and practical experience of internationally recognized scientists and clinicians that informs and challenges readers. Four sections—Exercise Science, Exercise Medicine, Sport Science, and Sport Medicine—provide a critical, balanced, and thorough examination of each subject, and each chapter provides cross-references, bulleted summaries, and extensive reference lists. Exercise Science covers growth, biological maturation and development, and examines physiological responses to exercise in relation to chronological age, biological maturation, and sex. It analyses kinetic responses at exercise onset, scrutinizes responses to exercise during thermal stress, and evaluates how the sensations arising from exercise are detected and interpreted during youth. Exercise Medicine explores physical activity and fitness and critically reviews their role in young people’s health. It discusses assessment, promotion, and genetics of physical activity, and physical activity in relation to cardiovascular health, bone health, health behaviours, diabetes, asthma, congenital conditions, and physical/mental disability. Sport Science analyses youth sport, identifies challenges facing the young athlete, and discusses the physiological monitoring of the elite young athlete. It explores molecular exercise physiology and the potential role of genetics. It examines the evidence underpinning aerobic, high-intensity, resistance, speed, and agility training programmes, as well as effects of intensive or over-training during growth and maturation. Sport Medicine reviews the epidemiology, prevention, diagnosis, and management of injuries in physical education, contact sports, and non-contact sports. It also covers disordered eating, eating disorders, dietary supplementation, performance-enhancing drugs, and the protection of young athletes.


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