Underrepresented

“We’re not asking the make to get up and leave his seat. We’re just saying scoot over a little bit. Make a little room for the ladies”

—Becky Hammon

There is a deep rooted culture of sex discrimination that exists in male dominated sports. Historically, sport media has favored two specific characteristics: male and white. In 2014, a report conducted by the Women’s Media Center shows that the trends of female representation in the media are not as progressive as one may think, and that diversity continues to decline. Sports are a field found to be particularly homogeneous given that the “staffs on sports publications and websites skew 90 percent male and 90 percent white.” Which is ironic given that this source also indicates that women make up about one-third of the fans among major sports leagues.

One of the dominating perceptions that exists in sports is that women are underrepresented as a result of their lack of ability.

Men can run faster, jump farther, lift at higher volumes, etc. This is usually what we hear. They puff their chests and generate a feeling of fear within their opponent, or frankly anyone who is watching, based on intimidation and physical stature. We get it big boys, you’ve got clout. But this is exactly where the issue ultimately lies: the perception of male dominance. Their ability to physically dominate their opponent has, in turn, dominated the industry. The sport industry, whether it be through the leagues themselves, league sponsors, broadcasters, or the consumers, pays a grandiose amount of money to support and empower male sports. This is the single spark that spreads the wildfire of industry male dominance and female underrepresentation.

Although there are a plethora of sports to stimulate this discussion, in my opinion, basketball exemplifies a glaring differentiation in opportunity. A game played all over the world, but dominant in the United States, basketball is a game played with nearly identical rules for the men and women who play. The rules, the techniques, and the equipment for a basketball game played by men are virtually the same for a basketball game played by women. Are the men faster? Maybe. Are they stronger? Probably. Can they reach higher heights on their dunks? Typically. So yes, the women who play in the WNBA are overlooked and overshadowed by the skill and ability of their male counterparts in the NBA. But where the most conspicuous and inadequate representation of women exists is not only amongst the players, but also across the staff.

Have you ever seen a female coaching men in basketball? I am not involved in the sport myself, but I would consider myself to be a somewhat loyal consumer of the sport, and I have not seen a women in a head coaching position for men. That was until I stumbled upon Becky Hammon, but I will get to talking about her later.

Yes, there are some badass women leading some historical women’s basketball teams on some amazing runs. Take the head coach of Stanford University’s Women’s Basketball team, Tara VanDerveer. A ten-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year, she is one of only six NCAA Women's Basketball coaches to win over 900 games, and one of three NCAA Division I coaches – men's or women's – to win 1,000 games. She has not only proven that she can match the ability of her male competitors, but she goes beyond the successes of what most men could only dream of achieving in her position.

So what I am trying to get at here is that even though VanDerveer is a certified badass and is most likely just as qualified in her position as any man, how long do you think it took her to start making the same salary as the male Head Coach of Stanford’s men's basketball team? Ten years. Ten years and two National Championships later, she “proved” that she deserved a salary equal to that of her male counterpart at Stanford University, who at the time was leading his team to a losing season.

Although we find brief moments of light in a world of perpetual darkness like in the triumph and prosperity of Tara VanDerveer, there are still blockades that serve to oppress the light trying so desperately to shine through.

Have you ever stopped and wondered why even the most successful women coaches cannot obtain a coaching position with a men’s team? I think about this a lot given that in my twelve year athletic career, the positions of all of my head coaches have been occupied by men. In my earlier days of playing water polo at the splash ball level, the thought of one man controlling the actions and decisions of twenty five prepubescent young ladies, during debatably the most important time of development in their lives, shockingly seems a bit absurd to me. Sure, I have been coached by females here and there, but they primarily hold the role of an assistant or a resource to go to when I am struggling with “girl stuff.” Whatever the hell that is supposed to mean.

Anyway, there exist some universal assumptions that can be compiled into a list that represents why women are not granted the opportunities to coach men, like men coach women. And just so I do not give anything away, I must warn you that I can go through a few of the assumptions for this lack of opportunity, and quite frankly, debunk the shit out of them. I will begin with some general and all-encompassing figures.

Currently, women represent 42.6% of the head coaches in women’s sports, while men represent 57.4% of the head coaches in women’s sports. In contrast 3% of the head coaches in men sports are comprised of women. These statistics emphasize the double standard whereby men are considered more often for coaching opportunities for both men and women. Why is this? The first assumption behind this lack of opportunity encapsulates what leads most to think women are incapable of coaching men.

The unbalanced connection between physical ability and gender stifles opportunities for female athletes and women working in the sport industry. The playing ability of men may be at a faster pace. I know what you are thinking: We have already been over this. Yes we have. We get it, LeBron James is most likely going to be able to dunk on Brittney Griner, even though she is 6’8 and an absolute artist on the basketball court. But this concept can in no way be translated to coaching. Male coaches who coach professional teams do not have the ability to “out compete” their current players. Maybe “back in the day” they would have been able to, but you cannot tell me that John Beilein can dunk on Trey Burke. Therefore, a woman’s ability to beat a male player they are coaching in a one on one match should not dictate their ability to coach men. If ability of play is not a barrier for men wanting to coach women’s athletics, it should not be a barrier for women to break into coaching men.

This next assumption is my personal favorite. The assumption that women do not want to be around sweaty and testosterone charged men in their place of work. This one really kills me because there are women who are doctors that deal with far worse. If a woman could not “handle” these harsh working conditions, they would not put themselves in that position in the first place. In addition, women serve in higher positions of athletic trainers and physicians for male athletes. So what this all boils down to isn’t ability or a presumed female aversion of sweaty men. It is masculine hegemony that exists in the sport industry that affords women less opportunity.

The role that masculine hegemony plays in the lives of women in the workforce, particularly in the sport industry, is significant. As in the world of basketball, men are overrepresented in administrative positions in the sport industry at large and this is as a result of a broader misinterpretation of a woman’s ability to coach men.

Physical ability and success on the playing field translates to respect within the industry. This “respect” can easily be misinterpreted as knowledge and experience, which is why women often lack opportunity in working in the sport industry. Respect is essentially the framework that encourages the acceptance of women in leadership roles. Without having due regard or genuine consideration for the knowledge and experience of a woman in a leadership position, it will be difficult to work together to achieve a common goal.

When discussing positions of coaching, respect has to stem from the entire organization. From the players to the front offices, the head coach plays the role of the figurehead, whether it be a man or a woman. The success of a team does not only depend on talent, but the strength of their leaders. Women are often denied the opportunity to hold lucrative coaching positions in fear that the male players will not respect them as leaders, and, in turn, lead to an unstable, and unsuccessful team. Just as it provides men a general privilege to obtain high-ranking positions, masculine hegemony further buries the aspirations and goals of women obtaining higher positions.

What are women doing today to combat this issue of underrepresentation?

As I promised, let’s talk about Becky Hammon. In 2014, Becky Hammon broke gender barriers and became the first women to be hired as a full-time assistant coach in the NBA. Hammon ended her 16-year WNBA career with the San Antonio Stars. She is the league's’ all-time leader in assists and 3-point field goals made. In 2011 she was named one of the WNBA’s top 15 players of all-time. Upon retiring from her competitive playing career, Hammon secured the assistant coaching position with the San Antonio Spurs based not on her gender, but her sheer talent and knowledge of the game of basketball.

Head Coach of the San Antonio Spurs and five-time NBA champion, Gregg Popovich, claims that Hammon is “A leader, she’s fiery, she’s got intelligence, and our guys just respected the heck out of her, so she’s coaching with us, she’s running drills. That’s why we made her a full-time coach.”

Hammon has proven to be nothing short of a success after leading the Spurs to the Summer League championship in Las Vegas in 2015, becoming the NBA’s first ever female head coach at Summer League. Hammon hopes to inspire others and one day “Get to the point in society where this is not news anymore and (it becomes) `We hired this person because they are best for the job."'

Becky Hammon is a trailblazer for women not only in the NBA, but also women in the sport industry that hope to be represented in higher ranking positions.

Who are some other women on the verge of breaking through?