Current Issues
No.41
June 2004		  
    

Women taking the lead
Action plan for increasing the number of women in leadership positions in German sport organizations
Sabine Radtke, Freie Universität, Berlin


More than 10 million girls and women are members of sports clubs across Germany. They represent approximately 40 % of the membership base, but hold only 9 % of leading positions within national sports federations. This lack of women in leading positions of German sports organisations prompted the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to support the project Women Taking the Lead, where researchers aim to analyse the situation and develop initiatives to address the lower rates of leadership representation by women.
In 2001, the project was initiated as a joint project involving the Free University of Berlin and the National Olympic Committee for Germany and is led by Professors Dr. Gudrun Doll-Tepper and Dr. Dr. Gertrud Pfister. From December 2003 on, cooperation began with the German Sports Confederation (Deutscher Sportbund).
Women taking the lead” has both scientific and practical components. The overall aims of the program are to:
  • Increase the number of women in leadership positions in sport in Germany
  • Offer equal access to women at the decision making level
  • Benefit from the wealth of women’s experiences and competencies
  • Reduce the deficit of persons available for leadership positions.
The general questions that should be answered by the results of the theoretical and empirical research are:
  • What are the reasons for the lack of women in leading positions in German sports organizations? Is this gender difference more likely caused by special female and masculine personality traits, especially by different motives or attitudes concerning a career in leadership positions, or by the organizational structure of the sports federations itself?
  • What could be done for the training of new female recruits, and where, in the first place, could these recruits be found?
In order to gather information, the following studies have been undertaken and the fieldwork is completed:
  • Meta-analysis of existing studies
  • Structural analysis of selected sport federations
  • Qualitative interviews with women in leading sports positions and experts concerning the motives, attitudes, barriers and wishes of women and men in honory leading functions of the sports federations
  • Representative evaluation of all leaders in the chairmanships of all German sports federations concerning their careers in profession, sports and honory functions
  • Representative evaluation of female trainers in the German Gymnastic Federation.
The following studies are planned:
  • Qualitative interviews with “drop-outs” (Why did they quit their leadership position?)
  • Qualitative interviews with former female competitive athletes (Are they interested in a leadership position within a sports federation?).
The practical work started with a meeting in December, 2001, where the representatives of 16 sports federations discussed:
  • specific requirements for increased awareness in the boards and national federations,
  • the development of a women’s network in the boards, and
  • special programs such as mentoring and gender mainstreaming.
Each federation has since analysed its own situation and collected information about the women working within their organization. If desired, the national federations are assisting women in making career plans. Further information about mentoring as well as about gender mainstreaming has been given to the cooperating federations. One of the most important aspects in this program to date has been to convince the leaders in the sports organizations of the necessity of this project by pointing out that all measures taken are just part of systematic personnel development and thus is a benefit to the whole sports organization. The project “Women taking the lead” helps to implement these ideas, to build up the network and to spread information about this work, especially by the internet (www.femtotop.de).
The team of the German project "Women Taking the Lead", through ICSSPE President Prof. Dr. Gudrun Doll-Tepper, is applying for European Union support to extend the national project on the European level, in cooperation with different European countries. The focus of the European project, to be known as WALIS (Women and Leadership in Sport) will then be turned to examine the situation of women in leadership positions in sports clubs (their number in general, but also their career development, their obstacles etc) in order to develop women power on this basic level. Additionally, women with a disability shall be considered.The German team hopes to cooperate with four European countries where similar studies will be undertaken. In addition to the collection of statistical data within empirical studies, another main goal of the European project will be to develop in all cooperating European countries, new ideas for policy strategies and other measures to promote women's participation (including women with a disability) in decision-making positions in sport.
The aims of the transnational teamwork will be:
  • Making use of synergy effects which will occur through the transnational teamwork.
  • International comparison of data.
  • European teamworking and cooperation.
  • Exchange of "Best Practices".


Sabine Radtke
Freie Universität Berlin
FB Erziehungswissenschaft und Psychologie
Fabeckstr. 69, 14195 Berlin, Germany
Tel. +49 30 8385-2521,
Fax +49 30 8385-3138
eMail: sradtke@zedat.fu-berlin.de
web : www.femtotop.de




http://www.icsspe.org/portal/bulletin-June2004.htm