The Experiences of Female Athletic Trainers in the Role of the Head Athletic Trainer

Context:Very few women have leadership positions in athletic training (ie, head athletic training positions) in intercollegiate athletics. Research exists on the barriers to attaining the role; however, our understanding about the experiences of those currently engaged in the role is limited.Objective:To examine the experiences of female head athletic trainers as they worked toward and attained the position of head athletic trainer.Design:Qualitative study.Setting:National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I setting.Results:Six major themes emerged from our analysis regarding the experiences of female head athletic trainers. Opportunities to become a head athletic trainer, leadership qualities, and unique personal characteristics were discussed as factors leading to the assumption of the role of the head athletic trainer. Where women hold back, family challenges, and organizational barriers speak to the potential obstacles to assuming the role of head athletic trainer.Conclusions:Female head athletic trainers did not seek the role, but through persistence and encouragement, they find themselves assuming the role. Leadership skills were discussed as important for success in the role of head athletic trainer. Life balancing and parenting were identified as barriers to women seeking the role of head athletic trainer.Key Words: gender, leadership, socialization, career advancement

Key Points

• Female athletic trainers who assumed the role of the head athletic trainer did so because of persistence and strong leadership skills. Many were promoted to the rank of head athletic trainer within their own organizations due to strong job performance.
• Reluctance and life-balancing concerns emerged as barriers to female athletic trainers assuming the role of the head athletic trainer position. The increase in administrative responsibilities and resulting additional demands on their time were potential problems for female athletic trainers.

Since the passage of Title IX legislation, more women have assumed positions within athletic training at the intercollegiate level. Women represented 46.4% of graduate assistant athletic trainers and 47% of assistant or associate athletic trainers in 2010.¹ However, the number of women advancing in the field, specifically to head athletic trainer positions within Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, has not increased significantly. Women held the fewest head and assistant athletic training positions at the Division I level,² only 17.5% of the head athletic trainer positions in 2012.¹ Scant research is available to address why so few women are in head athletic trainer positions. To date, only 1 author³ has examined the experiences of women in head athletic trainer positions at the Division I level.Outside the athletic training literature, gender stereotyping and factors limiting the advancement of women in administrative or leadership roles have been described.^4–8 Within the athletic training literature, scholars have examined how gender-role stereotyping and concerns about power have negatively influenced female athletic trainers, particularly when they are providing athletic training services to male sports or interacting with male coaches while providing athletic training services at the Division I level.⁹ Moreover, additional researchers have suggested that many women transition away from the Division I level to less demanding positions and careers as a result of kinship responsibilities,¹⁰ parenthood,¹¹ and life balancing,¹² which may preclude them from eventually assuming the role of head athletic trainer. Also, Gorant³ noted that female athletic trainers expressed an aversion to the role of head athletic trainer, as that person often assumes the position of lead athletic trainer in charge of football. Providing athletic training services at the Division I level is considered a daunting task requiring long hours; coupling those with the additional administrative responsibilities that accompany the role of the head athletic trainer and the responsibilities of a football sport assignment may deter an athletic trainer from pursuing the role. Gorant³ found that female athletic trainers were reluctant to assume leadership roles as a result of lack of confidence or self-identified lack of skill sets necessary to lead.³ Our purpose was to build upon the work of Gorant,³ as she was the first to examine the barriers female athletic trainers perceived to assuming the role of the head athletic trainer.

Challenges to Advancement to Head Athletic Trainer

Career advancement for female athletic trainers has been described as limited or difficult to achieve.³ Gender stereotyping has been anecdotally and empirically cited as a barrier to career advancement for female athletic trainers in the Division I setting.^3,9,13 Other barriers that have been examined within the athletic training literature include work-family conflict,^6,14,15 kinship responsibility,⁷ parenthood,³ incongruent role perceptions⁸ in collegiate athletic settings, and gender stereotyping of young female athletic trainers early in their careers.⁹ However, many women have been able to persist in athletic training despite these barriers.³ Specifically, a female athletic trainer is more likely to remain in a position that allows her to adequately and efficiently assume all her roles, which may include mother, caretaker, and spouse.¹⁵ Although data are limited on female athletic trainers and their decisions regarding leadership positions, the existing literature indicates some women report higher levels of job satisfaction in lower-ranking positions,^16,17 notably because of the ability to balance work and family obligations.^18,19 Work as an athletic trainer at the collegiate level is time intensive, which limits the ability to fulfill other roles and responsibilities, such as those of caregiver, spouse, or mom.²⁰Gender-role stereotypes are at times applied to women working in male-dominated areas,^21–23 especially in collegiate athletics. Ohkubo¹³ found that gender stereotypes existed within the Division I setting for the female athletic trainer, as student-athletes perceived them to serve in the role of nurturer or “mom.” Burton et al⁹ reported that young female athletic trainers were subject to informal work practices that prevented them from covering the higher-profile sports of men''s basketball and football. In addition, male coaches stereotyped young, female athletic trainers as potential sexual distractions to their athletes, which also served to minimize their professional competence and ability to work with high-profile men''s sports.⁹

Mentorship Support for Female Advancement in Athletic Training

Socialization is a process whereby individuals learn their professional roles and responsibilities through formal and informal training.^24,25 Mentorship has been identified as a necessary facilitator for professional development because the mentor provides guidance, context, and understanding regarding professional expectations, behaviors, and skills. In a recent study examining sex discrimination in the Division I setting, Burton and colleagues⁹ found that female athletic trainers were able to manage situations of sex discrimination because of professional role modeling or mentorship by a peer or supervising athletic trainer. Based on findings of recent investigations,^26,27 examining the balance between motherhood and the role of a Division I athletic trainer, mentorship has been viewed as a critical factor to help retain more women in the workplace. Also, role models and mentors can both assist athletic trainers in the Division I setting to navigate the bureaucratic and political environment of intercollegiate athletics²⁶ and advise young professionals on career advancement and how to improve job satisfaction.²⁷Given the low percentage of women working in head athletic training positions in Division I intercollegiate athletics (15.2%), the purpose of our study was to examine the experiences of women working in those positions. We hoped that by examining their experiences, we could develop a better understanding of what opportunities have led them to those positions, what personal characteristics and organizational contexts have supported their advancement, and what challenges and barriers they have overcome to reach the leadership level in athletic training.