Women Need a Title IX for Hiring Females Coaches
Inspiration for women in sports, women in athletics, women who care about equality
Women TIES Member Erica Haray-Butcher Coach
In Sunday’s Syracuse Post Standard there was a fantastic editorial board opinion entitled “College Coaching Ranks Need More Women.” The serendipity of the timing of the article comes on the heels of me leaving in a few minutes to drive to New York City to attend the Women’s Sports Foundation Annual Salute to Women conference and gala. I was invited to attend after my proven interest in conducting research on women who had excelled in sports over the years and the need for more women to support women in sports.
During one of my interviews a young woman, with a keen interest in landing a female coaching job in basketball, talked about her frustration in the college ranks not hiring enough females for coaching positions. I heard her pain as she expressed her passion to coach for women or men at the collegiate and professional level. She was the first person I interviewed and the inequality led me to then interview a female Athletic Director at a local college asking why they don’t hire more female coaches. The answer made sense, “We want to hire the best person for the job, not just a coach based on their sex.”
For a long time the only way women advanced in employment, voting and sports is because of laws or quotas allowing women to have a better chance in life preferences and professions. If the imbalance lies in the decision making by the people who hire coaches or staff, then I agree more needs to be done to equally hire women for athletic administrative and coaching positions. Perhaps we need an IX for hiring females in the world of sports too.
It wasn’t long ago that ESPN and other sports news stations had only men reporting the news and talking about sports. As a woman myself, who can talk sports to anyone and follows it as much as the three guys in my house, I attest to the fact women can have a passion and love for the game – which makes us as suitable for coaching and administration positions as the next man. It is clear women need a chance to apply and seriously be considered for a position.
My mother was a 21 year old, 5’1” woman whose first job out of college was coaching high school boy’s wrestling and JV football. She was smart enough and loved coaching enough to get the job back when there weren’t enough coaches in the field. Now we have many women who want to coach but don’t have access to the positions. Let’s change that can we?
Women TIES 