Gender inequalities in Polish and international sports organisations

Abstract

Background: The aim of this article is to check whether gender inequalities occur in Polish sports organisations and what the scale of those inequalities is in comparison to international organisations. Other aims relate to verification whether there exists a policy to align these inequalities: provisions prohibiting discrimination due to gender, rules and regulations providing women with a specified number of seats in the crucial positions of the organisation and activity of women’s sports committees. Material/Methods: The study used methods characteristic of sociology, especially methods of examining official documents: on the one hand, information generated by other empirical data from official documents of the organisation; on the other hand, the content analysis of official documents of the organisation. The sample consists of six Polish and six international sports organisations. Results: The results of research showed that in Polish sports organisations fewer women work than in international organisations; there are also fewer women in committees and fewer women committees (if they have been established). The content analysis of official documents indicates that international organisations place more pressure on preventing discrimination by using appropriate provisions in the statutes, reserving places for women in committees or paying attention to the language used in documents. Conclusions: The findings revealed that Polish sports organisations do not implement the strategy to reduce the degree of discrimination due to gender. They remain blind to issues connected with gender and its influence on the functioning of women in sport and in sports organisations.