The Experiences of Women Leaders in the Higher Education Sport Sector: Examining the Gendered Organization Through Bourdieu’s Model of Field, Capital and Habitus

Naidu-Young, Shamira; May, Anthony; Pope, Stacey; Gérard, Simon

Abstract

This article is the first to examine experiences of women with leadership roles in the U.K. Higher Education sport sector. We carried out detailed interviews with women leaders. We utilized Bourdieu’s model of habitus, capital, and field; Acker’s concept of “gendered organizations;” and Shilling’s concept of physical capital. Our findings show Higher Education operates more inclusively than the wider sport sector, which has the potential to advance gender equality. However, gendered practices remain with women working harder to accumulate and convert capital. Motherhood negatively impacts conversion of capital and respondents without children felt this benefitted their career. Finally, we discuss the impact of menopause on the careers of women and suggest this can impact self-perception.

Citation

Naidu-Young, S., May, A., Pope, S., & Gérard, S. (2024). The Experiences of Women Leaders in the Higher Education Sport Sector: Examining the Gendered Organization Through Bourdieu’s Model of Field, Capital and Habitus. Sociology of Sport Journal, 41(3), 255–266. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2023-0094

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 15, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Feb 16, 2024
• Publication Date: 2024-09
• Deposit Date: Feb 21, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 21, 2024
• Journal: Sociology of Sport Journal
• Print ISSN: 0741-1235
• Electronic ISSN: 1543-2785
• Publisher: Human Kinetics
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 41
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 255–266
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2023-0094
• Keywords: Sociology and Political Science; Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation; Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2271460