Sport, Social Mobility, and Elite Athletes

Abstract

Abstract This chapter explores the association between sport and social mobility. Drawing on a review of literature and primary research on elite women’s road cycling, it is shown that opportunities for social mobility exist in sport, with key mechanisms being earnings, occupational status, educational attainment, and social prestige. However, it is evident from the literature and the primary data that these opportunities and pathways are not distributed evenly. There is considerable evidence to support the argument that, on the whole, sport is not the social equalizer it is considered to be, regardless of what high-profile rags-to-riches stories may suggest. Social factors such as gender, race-ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (and the intersections between them) moderate opportunities for social mobility in and through sport. Those from privileged backgrounds, and especially white middle-class males, are more likely to benefit from social mobility opportunities and pathways in sport than persons from underserved communities. This social stratification pattern is influenced by conditions and circumstances of early life, which shape disparities in access to sport participation opportunities from an early age. The case study of women’s road cycling illustrates how these dynamics will vary across sports labor markets of different size, depending on both the economic opportunities within a sport and the resources required to enter the sport and to maintain a playing career.