Feminist and Gender Research in Sport and Leisure Management: Understanding the Social–Cultural Nexus of Gender–Power Relations

Abstract

This article aims toward developing a critical theory that can further advance feminist research in sport management. I seek to offer a critical analysis of gender relations in sport and leisure management by developing a theoretical critique of gender (in)equity that integrates both social theory and cultural analyses. The original empirical data was gathered in a national study of Gender Equity in Leisure Management conducted by the author in 1998/99 and secondary data was drawn from comparative studies undertaken in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the U.S. (Aitchison, Brackenridge, & Jordan, 1999; Henderson & Bialeschki, 1993, 1995; Mckay, 1996; Shinew & Arnold, 1998). The research cited demonstrates that women’s experience of sport and leisure management is shaped by both structural and cultural factors. My findings highlight the need for new epistemological perspectives as much as new methodological approaches and techniques. This new perspective acknowledges the complexities of gender–power relations in the workplace and recognizes the interconnectedness and mutually informing nature of structural and cultural power, thus opening the way for more sophisticated analyses and understandings of gender equity in sport and leisure management.