Nicole M. LaVoi, Ph.D.
In the last year I’ve been thinking about women can create and be part of changing the occupational landscape in coaching. Change can happen from the ground up, from women. Change can also happen from the top down, when those in power champion social change. For the 2018 Women Coaches Symposium I put together a …
The second piece I wrote for swimswam.com about the false narratives and barriers facing women coaches can be found here. In the piece I write, “The lack of women coaches is not the problem, it is a reflection of a problem. That problem is a culture that does not value and support women.” The first …
I recently wrote a guest blog for swimswam.com As you may or may not know, swimming & diving has very few women coaches and gets on F on our Women in College Coaching Report Card. You can read my blog titled “8 Reasons Why Women Coaches Matter” here.
Some of you may not know who Shannon Miller is, but those of us in The State of Hockey (Minnesota) do. Shannon Miller was a highly successful women’s hockey coach at University of Minnesota-Duluth where her teams have won five NCAA championships, she developed 28 current and former Olympians, and amassed a .713 winning percentage. …
Continue reading “Shannon Miller Gets Fired: A Troubling Development for Women Coaches”
In my research I have interviewed Athletic Directors (ADs) on their best practices in recruiting, hiring and retaining women coaches. [to read the full report, click here.] Nearly all of them stated they want to hire “the best” for an open position. The best person, the best fit, the best qualified, the best (i.e., a winner, …
Continue reading ““We want to hire the best!”: A narrative that impedes women sport coaches”
I recently sat down the WCCO TV’s David McCoy to discuss the Women in College Coaching Report Card, false narratives about women coaches, and why women coaches matter. View our discussion here. View my 5 part blog series on false narratives here. You can read about my passion for gender and sport in this piece …
Happy International Women’s Day 2018! This is the fifth part of my Changing the Narrative for Women Sport Coaches blog series. You can read I, II, III and IV. This one will be brief! I often hear that “women don’t want to move their families” as a reason why there are fewer female head coaches. …
In Part I and II of this series, Changing the Narrative for Women Sport Coaches, I laid out how women coaches are framed shapes the discussion, and the numerous “blame the women” narratives that exist. In this blog I will tackle one particular narrative, provide counter narratives and suggest strategies for change. BLAME THE WOMAN …
Continue reading “Part III: Changing the “Women Don’t Apply” Narrative for Women Sport Coaches”
In Part I of this series I outlined why the way women sport coaches are framed is often problematic. For example there are many popular narratives about why the percentage of women coaches remains stagnant, and many of them blame women. When women are blamed, the system AROUND the women does not have to change. …
Continue reading “Part II: Changing the Narrative for Women Sport Coaches”
The under representation of women coaches within the institution of sport has been framed in many ways–from a historic decline since the passage of Title IX, to scarcity, to the more current narrative of stagnation. OK if you are new to this topic, let me give you the data to get you up to speed. …
Continue reading “Changing the Narrative for Women Sport Coaches: Part I”
