Opportunities and barriers that females face for study and employment in sport

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate perceptions of sport and exercise career opportunities and barriers among females at different career stages. Focus groups, consisting of high school students (n = 20), university students (n = 8) and graduates (n = 7) studying/working in sport and exercise, were formulated. All groups acknowledged gender discrimination within sport-related employment, with university students seeming to be more apprehensive of how discrimination might be career-limiting. Self-confidence and self-belief were deemed important for success, but external barriers, and tokenistic gender-equality strategies limited progression. In conclusion, efforts are still required to reduce gender inequality in sport-related career and educational settings.