Fifteenth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

Traditionally masculine sports, like Australian Rules Football, have an extended history of excluding women from participatory opportunities, facilitating discriminatory stereotypes that sport is primarily for men. Historical research has demonstrated sport as an important factor in socialisation processes that enforce traditionalist gender norms within society. This reinforces contemporary stereotypes that may limit the development of women’s professional sport, given the importance of consumers in the financial sustainability of sporting leagues. Guided by social role theory in a series of studies, we develop an in-depth understanding of the diversity in perspectives surrounding the recently established women’s Australian Football League and the various factors that encourage and dissuade consumption of women’s football. In the current study we aimed to measure implicit gender bias in consumers of Australian football, through hypothetical vignette scenarios comparing the skills of women and men players. This was achieved using an experimental design in which participants assessed the competency of players through scales developed from attribution theory. This research extends contemporary research in the field suggesting discrimination against women in the sporting industry remains, but manifests in a more covert manner compared to historical accounts of explicit prejudice. It is expected the results of this research will reflect inconsistencies between explicitly expressed opinions surrounding women’s sport and the covert attitudes measured. Findings from this research yield valuable insights for the further development of an industry that encourages diversity and inclusion.