Head Coach Changes in Women’s College Soccer: An Investigation of Women Coaches Through the Lenses of Gender Stereotypes and the Glass Cliff

Abstract

Women are underrepresented in leadership positions in sport, including coaching. In the present study of women’s college soccer in the United States, the authors examine the relationship between team performance and coaching changes through the lenses of gender stereotypes, role congruity theory, and the glass cliff theory. The authors collected 11 seasons of data (2007–2017) for all teams (n = 695) in five conferences. The results of logistic regression analyses with rare events correction show no significant differences between men and women coaches in terms of being dismissed following poor team performance. Hence, the theoretical assumptions of the gender stereotypes and role congruity literature could not be supported empirically. However, the results indicate that women coaches are significantly more likely to be hired as new coaches following poor performance of a team in terms of wins and winning percentage (but not losses) over the course of a season, providing some empirical support for a glass cliff in coaching. The findings have implications for the hiring practices of decision-makers in athletic departments and their performance expectations of women coaches.