Give female
and make them more visible so they can become role models. We also need a proactive national programme that explicitly encourages women into coaching and raises awareness.’’
Leberman says a quota system is not the answer. However, sports that have large numbers of female participants should at least have one assistant coach who is a woman, starting at the local junior representative level.
‘‘Their significant achievements on the world stage suggest women’s sport is in a strong position in New Zealand. However, scratching below this veneer of publicly celebrated success is a sporting environment that favours men.’’
Leberman, who has studied sport in New Zealand for more than 20 years, says it is not through lack of interest in coaching that women are left out. ‘‘Far from it – they are at the junior level and then often drop out because of range of barriers.’’
She isn’t holding her breath for the country to see the first female All Blacks coach. ‘‘Not in my lifetime – I would settle for all women’s national sport teams being coached by women as a starting point.’’
She says many of the sports that have large female participation levels – football, hockey, rowing, rugby sevens – have all-male coaching teams. attention and action if women are to participate fully at all levels of sport in New Zealand.’’
New Zealand Rugby’s female teams, the Black Ferns and the Black Ferns sevens, are both coached by men.
NZR’S strategic plan aims to increase participation in women’s rugby to 21,000 by 2021, with a goal of increasing female coaching number in Auckland only. Leberman says leaving other main centres such as Wellington or Christchurch off the plan is an oversight.
‘‘While New Zealand Rugby’s women strategy recognises the need to develop and retain the coaches to support women’s rugby, it does not specifically focus on the development of women coaches at either the community or elite level.
‘‘It is unclear, therefore, what steps New Zealand Rugby is taking to increase female participation in coaching at all