Effects of Gender Bias on the Evaluation of Male and Female Swim Coaches

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine whether male and female swimmers exhibit gender biases toward male and female coaches who vary in status. Subjects were 18 male and 20 female competitive swimmers from the Thunder Bay Thunderbolt Swim Club, Ontario, Canada. Each subject responded to a questionnaire that included a coaching philosophy statement of either a high- or low-status coach and four questions using Likert format. These pertained to the knowledge of the coach, ability of the coach to motivate, the athlete's personal desire to swim for that coach, and the anticipated future success of the coach. The swimmers were asked to decide by which coach they would prefer to be coached. Analysis indicated that male and female athletes do not rate male coaches differently from each other. Both groups preferred and rated same-sex coaches higher in ability to motivate, desire to swim for, and anticipated future success. The gender of the athletes' present coach had a significant effect on whether the athletes chose a male or female coach.