Organizational Performance will focus on key organizational and cultural factors within football organizations that may have an impact on women's opportunities for a career in clubs and associations. Cultural mechanisms such as attitudes, values, gender roles and gender equality or lack of the latter and organizational structures as promoters or inhibitors for women’s possibilities in football organizations will be explored. The WP will look into the consequences this may have for women's opportunities for career and leadership in football organizations.
Football is the world’s largest sport on both men's and women's side, and female football players are compared to male football players on how to practice the sport. Female football is considered less worthy compared to men's football. This dominated attitude and the valuation that prevails in football culture is the mainstay of attitudes, valuation and status towards female football.
“The quality of research that will solve today's societal challenges is enhanced when gender perspectives are integrated” (John-Arne Røttingen, Director of Norwegian Research Council, 2018). Football is a male-dominated "world", with a strong underrepresentation of women in leader positions at all levels in organizations/clubs. CEO, chairperson of the board, key resources, trainers and support staff are in general men. A major societal challenge lies in the cultural understanding of female football with their attitudes and values that strong culture-bearing environments highlights. This may have consequences for female football development, female footballers' self-image and understanding of what they can do, and for women who want to pursue careers within football organizations.
Leaders, coaches, players and other key individuals from the two top level in female football league in Norway will constitute the information cohort for our selection.