Theoretical framework
This research proposes to study professional women’s sport within its social and organisation context, as well as understand the interlocking dynamics of power that shape sports’ organisational structures and processes, underpinned with an intersectional theoretical framework. This perspective is informed by sport feminisms, and gendered organisational studies and recognises the complexities and intersections of gender, ethnicity, sexuality, inclusion and diversity. An intersectional approach rejects the tendency to homogenise women and to focus on a single aspect of women’s experiences of sport, instead it considers the intersecting factors at play (Knoppers & McDonald 2010). Contestations of gender and sexuality and ethnicity (McDonald, 2017) are of particular relevance in women’s sport. Intersectionality recognises that these interacting, and powerful forces not only shape sport but have broader societal impacts for women. This research will advance understandings of how multiple considerations are interwoven in the organisation experiences of women in professional team sport, and potentially have wider significance for women’s sport.
Research design
Studies of gender, inclusion and sport have been dominated by the use of qualitative methodologies, with in-depth considerations of the individual, therefore results have not necessarily been transferable to the collective. This proposed project will include the collective (women professional athletes),
and the organisation (professional sport organisations), to inform theorising at the collective and organisational levels.
Advancement of knowledge
This project will advance knowledge by developing new ways of conceptualising and documenting the practices in women’s professional team sport and the configurations of the associated sport organisation/s. The empirical research will be undertaken on a collective level and investigate the issues from a gendered organisations perspective. The central advancement to knowledge of this project will be in addressing the problem of how women’s professional team sport can be legitimatised, sustainable, and inclusive of gender and diversity in these new and emerging female sports professional workplaces. The ‘Australian’ dimension of women and men’s co-existence, where women’s teams rely on financial and other forms of support, adds another layer of organisational complexity. This project seeks viable and sustainable alternatives for Australian women’s sport to inform the positioning and structure of women’s professional sport with practical strategies and policies for action.