This thesis is about women in sport in the Spanish context. Sport has been and remains a masculine context. And the study of women in sport has been limited. This is a doctoral thesis consisting of a compendium of three publications. Its objective is to identify and describe factors that influence women to continue in sport, both in practice (as elite sportswomen) and in management (sports organization managers). This thesis is organized in three different and complementary studies: (a) The dual career of female athletes during the transition to the university, (b) Competences for dual career of female athletes, and (c) Women in sports organizations. The first two studies help identify what factors may influence female athletes to continue in sport during their dual career, that is, while combining their sports career with academics. In the third study, we identify factors that can influence women's continuing to hold positions in sports organizations. A mixed method approach was used in this thesis. It has 83 participants, of which 75 are active high performance female athletes who were performing a dual career at the time of the investigation and eight were women managers of high level sports organizations, being former elite athletes five of them. The study " The dual career of female athletes during the transition to the university " is a qualitative and longitudinal study. Four phases are proposed from the transition from the baccalaureate to the university (i.e., preparation, immersion, learning and adaptation) and we explain the main characteristics of each phase. It was found that the most stressful and complicated phases for female athletes were those of preparation (final baccalaureate) and immersion (entrance to the university). It is proposed that competences for the dual career be carried out preventively. The study of " Competences for dual career of female athletes " is a cross-sectional and quantitative study. We identify six key competencies to develop with the female athletes in order to help them to be more prepared during the transition to the university. These competences are: Ability to use your time efficiently", "Assertiveness (being self-assured and acting with confidence)", "Belief in your own ability to overcome the challenges in sport and study”, "Ability to cope with stress in sport and study", “Dedication to succeed in both sport and study” and "Willingness to make sacrifices and choices to succeed in sport and study". Finally, in the study "Women in Sports Organizations", which is a qualitative and crosssectional study, we explore factors influencing women to remain in managerial positions in sports organizations. It proposes factors that can promote women managers continuation through the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence and relation (e.g., democratic meetings where all opinions are respected), as well as factors that can hinder it (e.g., lack of respect, often manifested through sexist comments) through frustration of needs. They also explore what their motivations are. In conclusion, this thesis provides a holistic vision of women in sport, discussing factors that may influence women's continuation both in practice and in management. In this thesis we make proposals so that measures can be taken to take into account gender specificities and promote that the needs of women in sport are considered by sports organizations at all levels and structures, from practitioners to directives taking the values of equality and diversity as a vertebral axis of the organization.
Dones en l'esport: factors que influeixen a seguir en la pràctica i la gestió
Pérez Rivasés, A. (Author). 18 Jul 2018
Student thesis: Doctoral thesis
Student thesis: Doctoral thesis