Abstract
The lack of representation of women and girls within multiple fields within and at every level of the sport sector, despite global movements and policies that have found some traction, is also a persistent, unremitting challenge in South Africa. Participation in sport and structured physical activity has multiple health and social benefits, amongst others – particularly for marginalised groups, which includes women and girls – which South Africa supports through prescripts enshrined in legislation and its constitution, with liberal ideological underpinnings. This investigation aimed to explore the intersections of gender and sports ideology and its impact on gender (in)equity in the South African context, from a civic society perspective. It focused on identifying and investigating policies, structures and practices relating to gender equity. This allowed for an exploratory and in-depth investigation into how civic society actors perceive and experience gender equity within sport-related domains in South Africa. The study draws on feminist theories as conceptual framework and the thematic analysis of policies and strategic documents for gender framing and equality. Twenty-eight interviews (N=28) were conducted with a purposive sample of identified stakeholder representatives from civic society and the sport sector, namely sport administrators/activists (n=6), NGO decisionmakers (n=19) and employees (n=3). An analysis of the qualitative data produced four main themes. The first theme identified how societal mind-sets around gender were linked to institutionalised male hegemony and patriarchal values and belief systems. This ultimately impacts on resource allocation (for women and girls) and the involvement of women in decision-making roles in sport. The second theme identified how gendered expectations impact on inter-gender relationships (in society and in sport). Black African communities were found to have expectations of culturally designated gender roles, which infringe upon the basic human rights of women and girls, regarding their right to autonomy and decision-making. The third theme identified the effects of marginalised community’s societal context – poverty and violence – as additional (yet previously unknown) barriers to gender equity and sport. Poverty and violence have the greatest effect on women and girls. The fourth theme identified how limited understanding of the differences between gender equity versus gender equality have had an impact on sport policy implementation, while there was also no evidence of stakeholder accountability and adequate direction as to how to implement policy was lacking. The results of the study also highlighted five key stakeholders, namely the government sector, sport federations, the corporate sector, NGOs and universities, which could potentially assist in gender reform in sport, if they so choose. Recommendations specific to each identified stakeholder are presented for informing current practices and future research.
D.Phil. (Sport Management)