Pipeline problem: factors influencing the under representation of women in the top leadership positions of sport organisations

National Sport Associations, National and International Sport Federations and even the International Olympic Committee continue to struggle with meeting the 20% representation quota of women in executive boards. Although women’s representation as athletes, coaches and officials has increased in national and international sport competitions, this does not hold in leadership, particularly in top positions. In sport leadership, empirical research showed statistical figures that women have gained access in leadership pipeline however, they still lack representation on executive boards. This study is a part of a larger phenomenological investigation intended to identify the factors that influence the persistent underrepresentation of women in top leadership positions. From a purposive maximum variation sampling of seven participants, top women leaders in Malaysia national sport organisations were interviewed about their career paths and experiences concerning how and why women top leaders continue to lag behind their male counterparts. Results suggest that self-limiting behaviors, work-life conflict and interpersonal relationships among other women contribute to the underrepresentation of women in top positions. Factors attributed to social perception of gender and leadership roles incongruence also limited women leaders’ access in organisations, which subsequently contribute to the pipeline problem. Moreover, participants offered suggestions in overcoming the challenges and personal strategies in advancing opportunities and career development

Incongruence of gender, leadership roles and underrepresentation of women in sport leadership positions

The overall purpose of the study was to investigate the underrepresentation of women in top leadership positions of sport organizations through the perspectives and experiences of women leaders who have broken the barriers in sport leadership. To attain this purpose, the study employed five research questions purposely designed to answer the perceived barriers women leaders faced; their experiences related to the discriminatory practices in the organizations; influences of those prejudice; strategies they employed to overcome those barriers; and the support they provided to aspiring women leaders. The study employed phenomenological qualitative design where data were collected through face-to-face, semi structured interviews, observations and document analysis involving women leaders currently occupying top leadership positions in the national sport organizations. Framed by three theoretical perspectives of role congruity, homologous reproduction and pipeline problem, the current study sought to give voices to seven purposely selected women leaders who have navigated the male dominated environment of sport. The perspectives and experiences of the participants provided greater understanding of the underrepresentation of women in top positions of sport leadership. The data collected from three data sources elucidated five emerging themes: perceived barriers, experiences, influences of prejudice, strategies to overcome barriers and support. The participants perceived that the underrepresentation of women in top leadership positions is attributed to the perceived barriers women faced which include personal limitations where self-limiting behaviors and work-life conflict prompted it; sociocultural factors consist of traditional and cultural practices and society’s perceptions; and organizational factors consist of all-men’s network, gender discrimination and conflict among women. The participants also talked about their experiences related to the discrepancy of gender and leadership roles, organizational discrimination and pipeline problem. The participants revealed that gender stereotyping is evident through designation of leadership positions and gender role expectation; organizational prejudice is also occurring attributed to treatment and access discrimination manipulated by the majority in the organization; and candidate pool problem is apparent in the organization attributed to the lack of programs provided for the aspiring and potential women leaders, and low self-efficacy of women to come forward in the sport leadership pipeline. The participants also discussed the influences of prejudice in the organization, whereby the lack of leadership role models, lack of support and gender role conflict were identified. However, all the participants were hopeful of a better change and greater opportunities for women in sport leadership. They recommended strategies to overcome those barriers included networking, mentoring and developing self-efficacy. The participants also offered support which they believed will alleviate women’s underrepresentation in sport leadership, such as the needs for leadership role model and mentors, developmental programs and to work toward amending the selection process of selecting women leaders. All throughout this study, the findings showed that women were underrepresented in top leadership positions. The study revealed that there are many gendered barriers and prejudices that have discouraged women from pursuing leadership positions particularly at the top level. Significant findings of the study showed that the three theoretical perspectives employed are intertwining and collectively explained the underrepresentation of women in sport leadership

Incongruence of gender, leadership roles and underrepresentation of women in sport leadership positions

Research has shown that women have gained access in top executive positions of leadership in different sectors of development, yet they still remain rare and underrepresented in the realm of sport. Over the years, sport management scholars have presented a number of explanations emphasizing the factors that impede women’s ascend to top leadership positions and suggest strategies for change, yet the phenomenon still persists. Apparently, giving voices to the women who lived with the experiences and broke the ceiling of oppression in the male dominated environment have somehow been given less emphasis in the context of social science research. As such, the purpose of this study is to apply phenomenological research approach in order to seek an in-depth understanding of the underrepresentation of women in top leadership positions of sport organizations. Such approach specifically constitutes three qualitative methods which are interviews, observations and document analysis of which believed to provide profound and rich data. Subsequently, data will be gathered from a purposive maximum variation sampling of 19 women leaders who are in the top leadership positions of sport organizations in Malaysia. Furthermore, the study proposes a framework working toward the theoretical perspectives of role congruity, homologous reproduction and pipeline problem of which attribution associated to social, organizational and personal factors would be obtained to explain the underrepresentation of women in sport leadership positions

Perceived incongruity of gender and leadership roles: experiences of top women leaders in Malaysian sports associations

This study investigates the experiences of top women leaders in Malaysian sports associations with regard to discrepancy of gender and leadership roles, organizational discrimination, and pipeline problem in sport organizations. Data were collected through in-depth, face to face semi structured interviews, observations and document analysis involving seven women leaders in national sport organizations. The theme that emerged from the data was "experiences" related to the discrepancy of gender and leadership roles, organizational discrimination and leadership pipeline problem. These experiences result in the bias judgment against women as leaders, being denied of access, less supported and women being denied access to leadership positions. The results were discussed using the role congruity theory, homologous reproduction and pipeline problem. The findings in this study concluded the prejudices within the sporting system of the country contribute to the diminishing number of women role models because they opt to get out from the system than to embroil themselves into the situation. Consequently, there is a higher possibility for a fewer aspiring women leaders to pursue for leadership position

Women in sport leadership positions in Malaysia: issues and challenges

Leadership is the process of influencing an organized group toward accomplishing common set goals, and it can also be defined as the ability of an individual to establish direction for a working group of individuals who gain commitment from this group of members to this direction and who then motivate these members to achieve the direction’s outcomes. Leadership, however, requires neither gender qualifications nor someone with communal or agentic characteristics but one with instinct potential to fulfil responsibilities. The purpose of the current study was to investigate how women leaders perceive the underrepresentation of women in top sport leadership positions in Malaysia. Guided by an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach, data were collected through in-depth, face to face semi structured interviews, observations and document analysis involving seven women leaders in national sport organizations. The findings showed that women were underrepresented in top leadership positions and the subjects revealed perceived barriers which they believe impede women’s ascend in top leadership positions. These barriers include personal limitations which include self-limiting behaviors and work-life conflict among women; sociocultural factors consisting of traditional practices and society’s perceptions; and organizational factors consisting of all-men’s network, gender discrimination and conflict among women. It was concluded that the underrepresentation of women sport leaders is a vicious cycle where there is a chain of events in which the response to one difficulty creates a new problem that intensify and aggravate the original situation

Women in sport leadership positions in Malaysia: issues and challenges

Leadership is the process of influencing an organized group toward accomplishing common set goals, and it can also be defined as the ability of an individual to establish direction for a working group of individuals who gain commitment from this group of members to this direction and who then motivate these members to achieve the direction’s outcomes. Leadership, however, requires neither gender qualifications nor someone with communal or agentic characteristics but one with instinct potential to fulfil responsibilities. The purpose of the current study was to investigate how women leaders perceive the underrepresentation of women in top sport leadership positions in Malaysia. Guided by an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach, data were collected through in-depth, face to face semi structured interviews, observations and document analysis involving seven women leaders in national sport organizations. The findings showed that women were underrepresented in top leadership positions and the subjects revealed perceived barriers which they believe impede women’s ascend in top leadership positions. These barriers include personal limitations which include self-limiting behaviors and work-life conflict among women; sociocultural factors consisting of traditional practices and society’s perceptions; and organizational factors consisting of all-men’s network, gender discrimination and conflict among women. It was concluded that the underrepresentation of women sport leaders is a vicious cycle where there is a chain of events in which the response to one difficulty creates a new problem that intensify and aggravate the original situation