Gender & Power: Explanations of Gender Inequalities In Canadian National Sport Organisations

Abstract

This paper seeks to theorise change and resistance to change in contemporary gender relations as these are manifest in Canadian national sport organisations. Interviews which sought to explore why women were under-represented in senior technical, administrative, and volunteer positions pointed to lack of qualifications and family responsibilities as the two most widely perceived reasons. As many respondents argued though, these phenomena themselves are rooted in structures of gender relations which transcend sport. The final section considers theories which seek to explain these deeper structures, and argues that the evidence supports a theory based on the analysis of power and conflict.