Women are less likely to put their hands up for sporting roles.
They prefer to stay in the background and offer their support where they can with minimal fuss.
And when the opportunity does arise to be thrust into a top role — such as coaching — they second-guess themselves.
‘‘Guys who played basketball up until high school will be like, ‘Yeah, I can coach my kid’s basketball team’,’’ United States rugby star Ilona Maher said.
‘‘A woman will be like, ‘Ah ... I didn’t go to the WNBA, I don’t think I can coach.
‘‘We are always going above and beyond to be overqualified.
‘‘Let’s realise we have worked for it — we deserve it.’’
Coaching at the top has always been a bit of a gender disparity.
Women in Sport Aotearoa chairwoman Susan Sawbridge noted recently premier New Zealand men’s teams, such as the All Blacks or the Black Caps, had not had a female coach involved in their ranks.
‘‘If you think about it, we’ve got plenty of men that are coaching women’s elite teams, but not the other way around,’’ Sawbridge said.
The White Ferns, Football Ferns and Black Ferns had all largely been led by men, until Whitney Hansen was appointed to the Black Ferns top gig this year.
‘‘There’s a slow shift and it’s really important that our best athletes get the best person for the job, and gender shouldn’t have to come into it, but the discrepancy and the imbalance is really big still.’’
But what does that mean?
Are there fewer opportunities for women? Are women less likely to strive for the top? Are there programmes in place catered to helping women develop their skills? Are they walking away earlier than others?
Only 12 of the 32 head coaches at the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup were women, and England head coach Sarina Wiegman was the last female standing after the round of 16 at that tournament.
A members association survey the same year showed an average of 5% of coaches — for both men’s and women’s teams — were female, and Fifa’s ‘‘setting the pace’’ report in 2024 found 22% of head coaches were female from the 86 women’s leagues surveyed across the world.
That did not reflect the rapid growth women’s football has experienced in recent years, according to Fifa, so the organisation decided to do something about it.
Every team involved in a Fifa women’s competition will be required to have at least one female coach — head or assistant — as the organisation looks to provide more opportunities for women.
That includes teams involved in the under-17 and under-20 world tournaments later this year and the World Cup in Brazil next year.
New regulations also require teams to have two female staff members on the bench at all Fifa women’s tournaments from youth to senior.
‘‘There are simply not enough women in coaching today,’’ Fifa chief football officer Jill Ellis said.
‘‘We must do more to accelerate change by creating clearer pathways, expanding opportunities and increasing the visibility for women on our sidelines.
‘‘The new Fifa regulations, combined with targeted development programmes, mark an important investment in both the current and future generation of female coaches.’’
