Underrepresentation of Women in Botswana Voluntary Sports Leadership

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the underrepresentation of women leaders in voluntary sport, by exploring perceptions of the women already in leadership positions within the Botswana national sports federations from a prejudice point of view. Limited research exists on the women in leadership phenomenon, especially from a prejudiced perspective. Data for this study was collected through telephone interviews from six women who have been involved in the national association committee leadership position. One half of the participants was made up of women who have been members of the national federation executive committee for a minimum of six months and the other half was made up of women who were currently serving in the position of an executive committee member in the national federation.

Role congruity theory was used as a theoretical model in an effort to explore the perceptions of women leaders volunteering in sports. Interviews were used to collect data and the questions covered the main research objectives on

(a) womens socialization into the sport through roles, (b) the consequences that have resulted in womens professional lives as volunteer leaders and (c) factors that influence their underrepresentation in sport leadership positions.

Underrepresentation of women in voluntary sports was perceived as a problem by all the six women interviewed. Several barriers were outlined by the participants including sports as a gentlemans club, patriarchal practices and balancing of professional jobs with volunteering and family life. The results of the study imply that Botswana is still lacking behind on women representation even though there are some policies that have been implemented to improve women participation in sports. There are still very few women who are in a position of power. Participants advised other women to network and create mentorship opportunities with other experienced women leaders in sports.

Keywords : Under-representation, Leadership, Women, Botswana, Voluntary sports