Careers and education
Sport participation can have a positive relationship to success in academic or professional pursuits.
While it is difficult to determine whether success in academic or professional pursuits is directly related to sport participation, research and analysis suggests that there is a relationship between the two. 14, 24, 28, 29, 49
Some benefits or skills identified as being fostered by sport participation that can benefit both education and career development include self-awareness, belief and confidence, teamwork, leadership, work ethics and standards, passion, performance under pressure, and learning to both win and lose (and to bounce back from failure). 12, 13, 23, 24, 26
Education and academic achievement
Higher education attainment can help to achieve long term health and wellbeing through various mechanisms, including better employment (and therefore economic outcomes), and developing positive psychosocial behaviours and resources. 3, 17, 28
Several research projects have identified the role that sport can play in helping to achieve better educational outcomes:
- A 2024 analysis of data from the ‘Longitudinal study of Australian children’ found that children who continued sport participation into adolescence had higher academic performance across a range of outcomes, although there were differences between individual and team sport participants. Team sport participants performed better on attention and working memory, had fewer days absent without permission, and were more likely to be awarded the HSC/equivalent. While individual sport participants reported higher NAPLAN literacy results and higher academic performance at the end of school (ATAR). 28
- A 2022 systematic review concluded that although many studies on the impact of sport participation for children and adolescent’s academic performance was relatively low-quality, it still suggested that 1-2 hours per week of sport participation, was beneficial for academic performance when compared to no sport or playing sport for 3 or more hours per week. Sport participation during school hours appeared to be more beneficial, potentially due to having a more immediate effect on individual’s attention and time on task, that can help improve academic learning and performance. 50
- A 2018 evaluation of an after-school triathlon program for at-risk girls aged 11 to 14 years in the United States indicated that after school community and family inclusive programs with structured fitness components (e.g. sport) increased confidence, self-determination, and academic achievement though social support structures. 21
- A 2014 study in the United States found a positive association between female and male advanced placement (AP) enrolment rates and interscholastic sport participation, especially in math, science, foreign language, and overall AP enrolment. The findings suggested that these benefits were stronger for female than male students. 29
- A 2011 evaluation of the Sporting Chance Program (SCP) that aimed to encourage improved educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students (boys and girls) using sport and recreation found similar outcomes for both genders. Some specific outcomes for girls included a 12.5% increase in self-reported attendance at school since joining the academy. One girls’ Academy reported that 88% of girls involved with the project had maintained or improved their academic and behavioural performances at school. Levels of literacy and numeracy were also also maintained or improved in around 90% of lower secondary students in this Academy. 6
To help children and young people have the best long-term benefits from sport we need to ensure that sport in schools is valued for the benefits it can provide – for academic, health, social and mental wellbeing – and that sporting activities and environments provide positive experiences for all. 3, 17, 27, 28, 50
Career and leadership development
Some studies have also looked at the role that sport participation, either current or during different periods of development (e.g. adolescence or university), can have on female career and leadership development. 27
- Studies looking at the value hiring managers attribute to playing and/or volunteering in sport when determining whether to interview job applicants have found that both are perceived favourably, potentially as or more favourably than internship experience. 51, 52
- A 2018 HSBC survey of 684 Australian women who currently played team sports found that 98% of women involved in the survey agreed that playing team sports had increased their professional confidence and contributed to a successful career. The top five skills developed through sport that were most beneficial to their careers were teamwork (23%); mental strength (13%); confidence (12%); time management (8%); and ambition (8%). 20
- Ernst & Young (EY), a global consulting firm has conducted a series of surveys and studies on the impact of sport participation on women’s leadership and career success, primarily in the United States. Some key findings include:
- Female executives surveyed felt that playing sport fostered skills and attitudes that contributed to their success, such as strong work ethic, determination, team building, and problem solving. 24, 36
- 94% of female executives had a background in sport. 55% of executive-level female respondents participated at university levels (compared to 39% of other female managers). 26
- 80% of women Fortune 500 executives had played competitive sports. 49
- 74% of all executives surveyed believed playing sports helps a woman progress faster. 26, 49
- 61% of the women executives who responded to the survey believed playing sports contributed positively to their career success and advancement. 49
- 76% of women surveyed agreed that adopting behaviours and techniques from sport in the corporate environment can be an effective way of improving the performance of teams. 53
- Women who had been athletes in high school generally earned more when they entered the workforce. The annual wages of former athletes were on average about 7% higher than those of non-athletes. 26
Some research and analysis suggest that many of the written and unwritten ‘rules’ of business have traditionally been absorbed by boys and men through participating in (often male-dominated) sport. This may mean that women who play sport can also have an advantage in learning the structures and skills that can benefit them in other male-dominated organisations outside of sport. 3, 12, 14, 53
Organisations – within and outside of sport – who wish to increase the number of female leaders can consider partnering with sports organisations and programs (e.g. at universities) to identify high-potential candidates, and/or develop policies to identify and recruit athletes at all stages of their careers. 36, 54
Resources and reading
- Why a female athlete should be your next leader, opens in a new tab, Ernst & Young (EY) Global, (23 September 2020). Research conducted over the last three years as part of EY’s Women Athletes Business Network shows the role that sport plays at every stage of professional women’s lives — from girls to rising leaders to C-suite executives. With their problem-solving skills and team-building experiences, women who have played sport are uniquely positioned to lead in the corporate world. A UN report points out that “the participation of women and girls in sport challenges gender stereotypes and discrimination and can therefore be a vehicle to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. In particular, women in sport leadership can shape attitudes towards women’s capabilities as leaders and decision-makers, especially in traditional male domains.” Sport backgrounds can also help C-suite leaders succeed. When they enter the boardroom, women athletes have a unique advantage. In addition to the strong work ethic, determination and team spirit fostered by their time on the playing field, they thrive on competition, which C-suite women who were polled in EY/espnW research noted was a bigger factor in their careers than did more junior women. Business leaders need to understand the direct relationship between athletics and careers and to partner with the athletic departments of universities to identify high-potential candidates, much as they do with finance, accounting or business departments. Companies must also develop policies specifically targeted toward identifying and recruiting athletes early on.
- Why Equitable Opportunity Matters: What a Life in Sport Provides Women and Girls Beyond the Game, opens in a new tab, Mim Haigh, Athlete Assessments, (2020). While girls’ and women’s opportunities to participate in sport have improved following the passage of Title IX in the United States, boys and men continue to be involved in sport substantially more than their female counterparts, and this gap only grows as they get older. Indeed, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations (2018-2019) boys have 1.13 million more opportunities to play sports than girls each year. The narrative extends well beyond the competition arena with the research clearly stating that from C-suite executives or developing leaders, to those entering the workforce, college, or school, with their practiced problem-solving abilities, leadership, and team building capabilities, a background in sport uniquely positions women and girls for success in any non-sporting endeavor. Some benefits or skills identified as being fostered by sport participation include Self-awareness, Self-belief and Self-confidence, Teamwork, Leadership, Driving standards, Discretionary effort, Performance under pressure, and Winning and losing.
- How can winning on the playing field prepare you for success in the boardroom? Janelle Sasaki, EY Global, (6 March 2020). A global study (Why female athletes make winning entrepreneurs) of male and female C-Suite executives conducted by EY and espnW between 2013 and 2016 found an undeniable correlation between athletic and business success:
- 94% of women executives have a background in sport, and over half participated at university levels
- 80% of women Fortune 500 executives had played competitive sports
- 74% of all executives believed playing sports helps a woman progress faster
- 61% of the women executives who responded believed playing sports contributed positively to their career success and advancement
- Five Ways Men Can Improve Gender Diversity at Work, opens in a new tab, Matt Krentz, Olivier Wierzba, Katie Abouzahr, et al., BCG, (10 October 2017). Women are underrepresented in many global companies, particularly among senior leadership teams—and companies are missing out on opportunities as a result. A large and growing body of research shows that organizations with greater numbers of women, especially in leadership roles, perform better. For example, a 2016 Peterson Institute for International Economics study of some 22,000 global companies found that as companies increased the number of women among board members and senior leaders, their profit margins increased as well. Diverse teams bring diverse perspectives to a company, improving both problem solving and resiliency and making the organization more innovative and adaptable to change.
- Benefits – Why Sports Participation for Girls and Women, opens in a new tab, Women’s Sports Foundation, (30 August 2016). Sport has been one of the most important socio-cultural learning experiences for boys and men for many years. Those same benefits should be afforded our daughters. It is important for all of us to know that: High school girls who play sports are less likely to be involved in an unintended pregnancy; more likely to get better grades in school and more likely to graduate than girls who do not play sports; Girls and women who play sports have higher levels of confidence and self-esteem and lower levels of depression; Girls and women who play sports have a more positive body image and experience higher states of psychological well-being than girls and women who do not play sports. Sport is where boys have traditionally learned about teamwork, goal-setting, the pursuit of excellence in performance and other achievement-oriented behaviors—critical skills necessary for success in the workplace. In an economic environment where the quality of our children’s lives will be dependent on two-income families, our daughters cannot be less prepared for the highly competitive workplace than our sons. It is no accident that 80% of the female executives at Fortune 500 companies identified themselves as former “tomboys”—having played sports. Right now, however, women who don’t know the written and unwritten rules of sport are at a disadvantage in understanding business models of organization based on sport. How important is it that our daughters learn the same rules as our sons? It’s critical.
- Lessons in women’s leadership from lacrosse and basketball, opens in a new tab, Beth A. Brooke-Marciniak, EY/World Economic Forum, (4 March 2015). A background in sport can improve a woman's leadership potential and help her land a job, according to women executives surveyed by the EY Women Athletes Business Network and espnW. Here are three important areas that business leaders, national and local governments and parents can focus on to help foster attitudes, programmes and communities that truly value the unique role of sports in creating women leaders: Support girls’ and women’s sports programmes from the ground up; Drive understanding of why sports matter for girls and women; Identify athletes in the talent pipeline.
- Ernst & Young Studies The Connection Between Female Executives And Sports, opens in a new tab, Alana Glass, Forbes, (24 June 2013). Ernst & Young commissioned a global online survey to investigate the important role of sports in the development of female executive in connection with its Women Athletes Global Leadership Network. The study found that 90% of the women surveyed had played sports either at primary and secondary school, or during university or other tertiary education, with this proportion rising to 96% among C-suite women. Moreover, in comparing C-level (executive-level) female respondents to other female managers, far more had participated in sports at a higher level. The respondents included 821 senior managers and executives (40% female, 60% male) who work at companies with annual revenues in excess of US$250 million. Together they represented 15 different countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Russia, South Africa, United Kingdom, and United States) and a wide range of industries. Additional research findings include:
- 90% of women agree that teams are the best way to address increasingly complex business problems, while 82% agree that improving their organization’s ability to develop and manage teams will be essential for future competitiveness.
- When comparing C-level female respondents to other female managers, a far higher proportion had participated in sports at a higher level, especially at university or as a working adult. For example, nearly seven in ten (67%) women now occupying a C-level position had participated in sports as a working adult, compared with 55% of other female managers, while 55% of the C-suite women had played sports at a university level, compared with 39% of other female managers.
- More than three-quarters, or 76%, of women agree that adopting behaviors and techniques from sport in the corporate environment can be an effective way of improving the performance of teams.
- Shooting Stars, opens in a new tab, an initiative of Glass Jar Australia, empowers Aboriginal girls and women across Western and South Australia to make informed choices about their education and employment journey, helping them shoot for the stars. Based in host schools, our program combines advocacy and support, engagement activities, rewards, and health and wellbeing sessions to strengthen participants' confidence, cultural identity, and positive attitudes, while promoting their health and wellbeing. Participants are engaged with different sports, arts, and fun games at school and outside of school. The program operates with a minimum target of 80% attendance at school for our Indigenous girls, with a goal to increasing this to over 90%.
- Evaluation of Sport NZ Ihi Aotearoa’s National Policy for Gender Equity in Governance, opens in a new tab, Dr Jo Cribb, Sport NZ, (September 2022). There is a well-accepted rationale for why women need to be included in leadership roles, including governance roles. Women bring new ideas and perspectives to decision-making that ensure better decisions are made. They can provide insights into the experiences of women and girls. If women are underrepresented, women’s views are unlikely to be adequately addressed. More broadly, the literature on board diversity concludes that having women appointed to boards ensures board recruitment is based on the whole pool, not just parts of it. Boards with more women attract more women employees and create policies and practices that encourage other women within the organisations and play, active recreation and sport sector (the sector). Organisations with more women on boards are more profitable and resilient. International, national and local organisations with women well represented at governance level have been shown to make better decisions because they ensure the voices of all sport participants are included. With more women on sports boards, more gender issues are raised more often, and more boards act on gender inequality issues. Boards with three or more women are also more inclined to consider non-financial performance measures and stakeholder satisfaction, both of which are essential for the survival of sport organisations. As of December 2021, 65 out of 66 qualifying partners of Sport NZ Ihi Aotearoa (Sport NZ), achieved a gender balance on their boards of 40 percent or more self-identified women. This qualitative evaluation of the implementation of the policy found that building a pool of board-ready women, focusing on supporting boards with their recruitment processes, and supporting chairs were key to success. To achieve the quota, the attitudes and behaviours of some incumbent board members needed to be challenged, constitutions and deeds modernised, and women needed to be encouraged to apply. The results of having more women on the qualifying boards have been an overall improvement in the quality of governance and board dynamics, more conversations about women and girls at the board table, more women in chair roles and more consideration of wider diversity opportunities, especially biculturalism.
- Chasing Equity: The Triumphs, Challenges, and Opportunities in Sports for Girls and Women, opens in a new tab, Women's Sports Foundation, (January 2020). There are distinct and vast benefits to girls’ participation in sport and physical activity at all levels of sport participation from grassroots to professional sport and beyond. Girls and women reap significant benefits from sport participation that are both immediate and long-term. Girls who do not participate in sport are less content with their lives than female sport participants. Sport involvement enhances girls’ quality of life as female athletes often benefit more from sport participation than male athletes. Sport is a favorable domain to support the fostering of leadership skills in girls. Main benefits discussed are physical, social, emotional, and academic.
- Why female athletes make winning entrepreneurs, opens in a new tab, EY and espnW, (2017). is there something about sport that primes women for the highstakes world of entrepreneurship? What are the transferable attitudes and behaviors that competitive sport instills? And, more broadly, what can women in the workforce at all levels learn from women who have leapt from the field of play to the founder’s chair? Our discussions with 22 entrepreneurs identified five winning strategies they developed as athletes that give them an edge in launching and scaling their own enterprises: Confidence — in their abilities, even during rough patches; Single-mindedness — an unwavering focus on the challenges ahead; Passion — the determination to succeed in everything they do; Leadership — the ability to lead and inspire a team of likeminded individuals; Resilience — the ability to take failure as “feedback” that will only make them stronger. In this report, we explore each of these attributes and suggest how they can be translated into behaviors that women can adopt to help them start, lead and grow their own companies.
- Her Life Depends On It III: Sport, Physical Activity, and the Health and Well-Being of American Girls and Women, opens in a new tab, Staurowsky, E. J., DeSousa, M. J., Miller, K. E., et al., Women’s Sports Foundation, (May 2015). A comprehensive report that reviews existing and emerging research on the links between participation in sport and physical activity and the health and wellbeing of American girls and women. As with the previous editions in 2004 and 2009, this study also confirms that physical activity and sport provides the critical foundation, in no small part, that allows girls and women to lead healthy, strong, and fulfilled lives. The report’s contents reflect the review of 1,500 studies, nearly 400 covered since the previous edition. While the report’s focus continues to be on U.S. girls and women, selected research findings that offer perspective regarding girls and women worldwide is also referenced in order to provide some perspective and context. The research compiled in this updated report strongly suggests that sport and physical activity provide conditions that help to ensure girls’ health and wellbeing (physical, social, psychological, and academic). The full report offers expansive documentation on the impact sport and physical activity has in the lives of girls and women. In this report, we also highlight the emerging areas of research that focus on protecting the health of female athletes and offer insights into the steps that need to be taken to ensure their health and safety. Some important selected findings identified include:
- Over the past few decades, several major reviews of the empirical literature have typically found that participation in sports is positively associated with many different educational outcomes. In general, sports participation has been shown to improve both girls’ and boys’ academic outcomes, with some studies suggesting that girls may gain an additional academic advantage due to their involvement in sports when compared to boys.
- Contemporary studies that have found that female athletes are most likely to show gains in male-dominated academic areas, such as math and science, have used a combination of functionalist and critical feminist theories to interpret why females in sport perform better academically in male dominated educational domains. These studies argued that participating in sport, a “male-dominated” domain, not only teaches female athletes skills and values necessary for success in academics, but also provides a social environment that challenges gender stereotypes about female limitations in other primarily “masculine domains” such as math and science. In other words, these studies theorize that sports participation provides a unique cultural environment for female athletes to challenge stereotypical assumptions about femininity (e.g., men are innately better at math than women).
- Previous athletic participation has been found to be an asset and valued quality among global business leaders. According to a 2013 study issued by Ernst & Young, a corporation that does business around the world, women at the executive level were found to have participated in university sport more frequently than women who were in manager positions (55% to 39%). The Ernst & Young (2013) study also found that more than 75% of women agree that adopting behaviors and techniques from sport in the corporate environment can be an effective way of improving the performance of work teams, which is a high management priority.
- Where will you find your next leader? , opens in a new tabEY and espnW, (2015). explore how sport advances women at every level. Research conducted over the last three years as part of EY’s Women Athletes Business Network shows the role that sport plays at every stage of professional women’s lives — from girls to rising leaders to C-suite executives. With their problem-solving skills and team-building experiences, women who have played sport are uniquely positioned to lead in the corporate world. The value of physical activity extends far beyond the playing field.
- Besides good health, the benefits of sport include social, emotional and moral competencies, as well as resilience, a sense of teamwork and the ability to connect with a community.
- A United Nations report points out that “the participation of women and girls in sport challenges gender stereotypes and discrimination, and can therefore be a vehicle to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. In particular, women in sport leadership can shape attitudes towards women’s capabilities as leaders and decision-makers, especially in traditional male domains.”
- Women who have been athletes in high school generally earn more when they enter the workforce, according to research by Betsey Stevenson, former Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Labor and now a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan. The annual wages of former athletes are on average about 7% higher than those of non-athletes, according to a Peterson Institute Policy Brief commissioned by EY.
- Seventy-four percent of respondents say a sport background can help accelerate a woman’s career, and 61% believe sporting involvement has contributed to their own career success. The survey linked women in senior management positions to experience with sport, finding that 94% of women in the C-suite played sport, 52% at a university level (39% of women at other management levels). Eighty percent of Fortune 500 female executives have played sport in their earlier years. 77% of C-suite women think that women who played sport make good employees, with cadidates with a sport background thought to be determined, have strong work ethic, and be team players.
- In addition to the strong work ethic, determination and team spirit fostered by their time on the playing field, they thrive on competition, which C-suite women who were polled in EY/espnW research noted was a bigger factor in their careers than did more junior women.
- A new study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics tracked women’s athletic participation and success at the Summer Olympic Games between Rome 1960 and London 2012. The researchers found that countries where women had even slightly more education and greater participation in the labor force won more medals in women’s Olympic events. This was the case even for modestly sized delegations from small or poor countries. The conditions that determine women’s athletic achievement are different from those that govern men’s success in sports, researchers found. Factors such as better education, more labor force participation, good health and a more urbanized population correlate with more medals for women in Olympic events.
- Business leaders need to understand the direct relationship between athletics and careers and to partner with the athletic departments of universities to identify high-potential candidates, much as they do with finance, accounting or business departments. Companies must also develop policies specifically targeted toward identifying and recruiting athletes early on.
- Evaluation of the Sporting Chance Program, opens in a new tab, Lonsdale, M., Wilkinson, J., Armstrong, S., et al., Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) for the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, (2011). The objective of the Sporting Chance Program is to encourage improved educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students (boys and girls) using sport and recreation. Such outcomes may include an increase in school attendance, strengthened engagement with school and improved attitudes to schooling, improved achievement in learning, increased retention to Year 12 or its vocational equivalent and greater parental and community involvement with the school and students’ schooling. More than 90 per cent of the 1,012 students surveyed and interviewed as part of the evaluation reported a positive attitude toward their schooling, particularly in relation to their attitudes to school, self-identity, sense of pride in being Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and self-efficacy as learners.
- Sport Participation for Academic Success: Evidence From the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, opens in a new tab, Katherine Owen, Bridget Foley, Ben Smith, et al., Journal of Physical Activity and Health, Volume 21(3), pp.238-246, (2024). Education has a positive effect on health across all life stages. High educational attainment improves health through better employment opportunities, improved economic conditions, increased psychosocial resources, and a healthier lifestyle. Unsurprisingly, there is causal evidence that high educational attainment reduces the risk of mortality. For these reasons, identifying the modifiable determinants of children and adolescents’ educational outcomes should be a priority for parents, caregivers, teachers, policy makers, and society. Physical activity positively improves academic performance in children and adolescents. Sport participation is a distinct type of physical activity, and a recent systematic review and meta-analysis of 115 studies found evidence for a positive association between sport participation and academic performance. However, most of the included studies were low-quality and cross-sectional designs. The primary aim of the current study was to identify long-term patterns of sport participation from childhood into adolescence and to examine the association between these patterns and academic outcomes. A secondary aim was to identify patterns of children and adolescents’ participation in team and individual sport and explore the effect of these patterns on academic outcomes. Children who continued sport participation into adolescence had higher academic performance across a broad range of academic outcomes. Individual and team sport appear to be beneficial for different aspects of academic performance. Children who participated in team sport had better performance on attention and working memory, fewer absent days without permission, and were more likely to be awarded the HSC/equivalent. Whereas children who participated in individual sport reported higher NAPLAN literacy results and had a higher academic performance at the end of school (ATAR). Given the decline in sport participation during adolescence, these findings highlight the need to develop or modify educational policies to establish an environment that fosters and promotes sport participation, which in turn could improve academic outcomes. Sensitivity analysis for gender was calculated, but specific results for girls versus boys was not reported in this study.
- Collegiate Team Sport Participation and Adult Leadership Development , opens in a new tab[thesis], Sarah Grai, Southeastern University, FireScholars, (October 2022). This study explored the impact of female collegiate team sport participation on self-perceived leadership development and leadership style. Research was conducted using qualitative methods, interviewing 12 former female collegiate rugby athletes, all no more than 3 years removed from their collegiate rugby experience. The aim was to understand how female collegiate athletes experience the process of leadership development, how participation influences an athlete’s perceived leadership style, the influence of coaches and team roles on their leadership development, and how former female athletes display transformational leadership as adults, if at all. The results of the study confirmed that collegiate rugby played a role in the formation of adult leadership styles, yet important questions remain regarding the process of leadership development within collegiate sport.
- Sport Participation and Academic Performance in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis, opens in a new tab, Katherine Owen, Bridget Foley, Katrina Wilhite, et al., Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Volume 54(2), pp.299-306, (February 2022). Our aim was to systematically review and combine via meta-analyses evidence of the association between sport participation and academic performance in children and adolescents. From 115 eligible studies, most of which had a high risk of bias (k = 87), we meta-analyzed 298 effect sizes. While gender specific data is not discussed, overall, sport participation had a small positive effect on academic performance. Moderator analyses indicated that sports participation was most beneficial for academic performance when it was at a moderate dose (i.e., 1–2 h·wk−1), compared with no sport or a high dose of sport (3+ h·wk−1). Sports participation during school hours was more beneficial for academic performance compared with sport participation outside school hours. Based on mostly low-quality studies, we found some evidence that sport could positively affect academic performance in children and adolescents. It appears that sport participation of a moderate dose and at school could be used to promote academic performance. However, if this field were to inform policy, high-quality studies are needed that provide insight into the effect of dose and sport characteristics on academic performance.
- The role of sports volunteering as a signal in the job application process, opens in a new tab, Sören Wallrodt, Lutz Thieme, European Sport Management Quarterly, Volume 20(3), pp.255-275, (2020). To examine the signaling effect of volunteering activities in CVs, 474 people involved in hiring processes (i.e. hiring managers) participated in this study. Both sports volunteering activities and internship experience were examined as different experimental conditions. Moreover, the subjects were randomly split into different experimental groups and asked to rate the skills and qualifications of a female applicant, and whether they would invite the applicant to an interview and what would be the salary offered upon hiring her for three different jobs. Sports volunteering had a positive effect on hiring managers’ perception of the qualifications of the applicant for all three jobs but affected the outcome of the application differently concerning the likelihood of inviting the applicant to a job interview or the salary that would be offered, but only if the job was closely related to the volunteering activity. The effects of internship experience were marginal.
- Does Athletic Participation Signal Employability? An Experimental Analysis of Male and Female Athlete Job Applicants, opens in a new tab, Brendan Dwyer, Jennifer Gellock, Journal of Intercollegiate Sport, Volume 11, pp.40-64, (2018). College athletes face high expectations to compete on the field and in the classroom. However, the time demands associated with athletics and academics often limit their ability to engage in traditional college experiences. Internships or practical job trainings are one such opportunity unfortunately forgone due to the time constraints of the contemporary college athlete experience. This results in an issue when applying for jobs outside of sport, as direct internship experience positively impacts an individual’s likelihood to be hired into an entry-level position. The current study explored the perceived value of intercollegiate athletic participation compared to and in addition to direct internship experience via four résumé evaluation experiments. Two hundred and thirty five individuals with hiring experience participated; results suggested athletic participation was perceived as at least equally favorable to direct internship experience. However, male athletes without direct internship experience were more likely to receive an interview and received higher unobserved attribute ratings than female athletes with the exact same credentials.
- Promoting the Leadership Development of Girls through Physical Education and Sport, opens in a new tab, Dana Voelker, Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, Volume 87(3), pp. 9-15, (2016). Leadership is a powerful life skill that influences the future of our local, national and global communities. Despite the many positive and productive changes observed in the leadership opportunities for women and girls, they remain highly under-represented in positional leadership roles. The leadership development and empowerment of women and girls has become an increasingly popular topic in books, websites and “strong girl” advertisement campaigns. At a grassroots level, physical educators and coaches must attend to these efforts in novel ways, as physical education and sport provide unique opportunities to develop leadership skills. This article discusses recommendations grounded in both the academic literature and professional practice, including: (1) embracing leadership diversity and deconstructing gender stereotyping, (2) building networking and mentorship, and (3) encouraging girls to use their voice and exercise leadership skills. Specific practical suggestions and a vignette are also provided to help physical educators and coaches maximize the leadership development of girls.
- Women, Sports, and Development: Does It Pay to Let Girls Play?, opens in a new tab Barbara Kotschwar, Peterson Institute for International Economics, Policy Briefs 14-8, (March 2014). This Policy Brief reviews the evidence that young women and youth in general who participate in sports are more likely to attain educational success and specifically that girls who play sports do better in school, suffer fewer health problems, achieve more in areas dominated by men, such as science, and hold better jobs as adults. The trend is especially striking among girls from minority groups, who appear to experience greater social and economic mobility, more confidence, and even more personal safety if they have participated in sports. While much of the evidence on girls’ sports participation is preliminary or anecdotal, it is clear that girls benefit from engaging in sports and net the same positive gains available to boys who do so. Bridging the gap in girls’ sports participation will expedite and enhance countries’ gender equity gains.
- Gender, Academics, and Interscholastic Sports Participation at the School Level: A Gender-specific Analysis of the Relationship between Interscholastic Sports Participation and AP Enrollment, opens in a new tab, Philip Veliz, Sohaila Shakib, Sociological Focus, Volume 47(2), pp.101-120, (2014). While literature demonstrates that interscholastic sports participation is associated with positive academic outcomes, this relationship is rarely analyzed at a macro level (the school level). To date, there is no research examining whether increases in schools’ female and male interscholastic sports participation rates are associated with increases in female and male advanced placement (AP) enrollment rates. Using a national sample of 4,644 public high schools during the 2009–2010 school year, the authors test several gender-specific hypotheses linked with the association between schools’ sport participation rates and AP enrollment rates (AP math, AP science, AP foreign language, and overall AP enrollment). The findings reveal that schools’ female and male sports participation rates have a positive association with schools’ female and male AP math, AP science, AP foreign language, and overall AP enrollment rates. Moreover, the findings suggest that females benefit more than males in regard to the positive relationship between interscholastic sports and AP enrollment.
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