Catherine Raiche, then assistant GM of football operations for the Montreal Alouettes, recalls being at a Florida minicamp last year when an employee at the training facility had a question for the teamB次元官网网址檚 head athletic therapist.
With a glance over at Raiche, he asked the therapist: B次元官网网址淥r should I talk to your secretary?B次元官网网址�
The 29-year-old Raiche, now director of football administration for the Toronto Argonauts, says that kind of antiquated mistaken identity happens B次元官网网址渧ery, very often.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 funny how you have those pre-conceived ideas because youB次元官网网址檙e a woman in this world, that youB次元官网网址檒l only have a certain type of position,B次元官网网址� she said.
B次元官网网址淧eople will ask B次元官网网址榃hat do you do for the team? Are you a cheerleader?B次元官网网址� IB次元官网网址檓 like B次元官网网址楴o. IB次元官网网址檓 not,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� an unamused Raiche added.
Sadly, itB次元官网网址檚 a story most women in positions of sport leadership have to tell.
Raiche grew up an Als fan and dreamed of a job in football. She got a law degree in hopes of becoming a player agent before the Alouettes made her the first female assistant GM in the CFL in almost 30 years in 2017.
Her hiring was big news, largely for the same reason Hayley Wickenheiser made headlines when the Toronto Maple Leafs hired the Canadian hockey star as their assistant director of player development last month. WickenheiserB次元官网网址檚 hiring came a few days after Raptors 905 named Tamara Tatham to their coaching staff, making the two-time Olympian the first Canadian woman to join the staff of a G-League team.
Allison Sandmeyer-Graves, CEO of the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS), looks at it two ways.
B次元官网网址淥ne is this is awesome that these women are being recognized for their technical abilities that transcend gender, and that these two organizations have the sophistication to make these sorts of choices at this point,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淥n the other hand, and I think this comes from more of an idealistic place, is that I canB次元官网网址檛 wait for the day that this isnB次元官网网址檛 newsworthy.B次元官网网址�
That day doesnB次元官网网址檛 appear to be coming any time soon. While the hirings of Wickenheiser and Tatham are worth celebrating, women are woefully underrepresented in sports leadership roles. Women won 16 of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 22 medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics, but just six per cent of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 head coaches on that team were female B次元官网网址� the lowest percentage since prior to the 2000 Sydney Games.
CAAWS, in partnership with the Dairy Farmers of Canada, published a report in 2016 that showed the glaring chasm at the collegiate level. In U Sports, just 32 per cent of head coaches of womenB次元官网网址檚 teams were women. MenB次元官网网址檚 teams? That number plummeted to just one per cent. It was the same percentage for assistant coaches of menB次元官网网址檚 teams.
B次元官网网址淎nd the percentage of women who are coaches has fallen,B次元官网网址� said Bruce Kidd.
Kidd, a scholar, activist and former distance runner who raced at the 1964 Olympics, is a member of two Canadian working groups on women in sport.
While the numbers in amateur sports are dismal, the face of professional leagues is almost entirely male. The NFL is tackling the gender imbalance in its league, and the woman in charge is Samantha Rapoport, a Canadian.
The 37-year-old from Montreal first worked with the league in 2003 as an intern out of McGill University. For the past two years, sheB次元官网网址檚 been in charge of B次元官网网址渂roadening the diverse talent pipeline in football operations for the NFLB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� creating a path for more women and minorities in NFL jobs.
B次元官网网址淲e really honed in on football operations, so coaching, scouting, front office, officiating, really kind of the last frontier certainly for women in football,B次元官网网址� said Rapoport, who played both touch and tackle football growing up. B次元官网网址滱nd weB次元官网网址檙e making a concerted effort to change that.B次元官网网址�
The NFL has two female full-time coaches amongst the several hundred across the league. Their names and jobs rolled easily off RapoportB次元官网网址檚 tongue: Katie Sowers, a wide receivers assistant with the San Francisco 49ers, and Kelsey Martinez, a strength and conditioning assistant with the Oakland Raiders. ItB次元官网网址檚 not tough to remember just two.
B次元官网网址淥ur ultimate mission is to normalize females on the sidelines, and everything that we do, every program that we have is geared towards the point of normalization, and so there have been some instances where weB次元官网网址檝e stopped talking about it and one example is athletic trainers,B次元官网网址� Rapoport said.
The NFL has six full-time athletic trainers, still a huge drop from U.S. college football programs, in which she said approximately half of the trainers are women.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e spoken to many of them in college, and thatB次元官网网址檚 what they relate is that they didnB次元官网网址檛 even consider it an option because they didnB次元官网网址檛 know: were there female trainers within the NFL? If so, how do I even get there? And so weB次元官网网址檙e working on bridging all the gaps that we possibly can for women who previously thought B次元官网网址榊eah, IB次元官网网址檇 love to work in football, but I have no idea how, and is it for me?B次元官网网址� WeB次元官网网址檙e trying to answer that question: yes its for you. And weB次元官网网址檙e trying to provide the pathways for them to enter the field,B次元官网网址� Rapoport said.
The WNBA, which has been the loudest voice on social issues, not surprisingly leads the charge in gender equity, boasting a female commissioner and president, and a coaching roster thatB次元官网网址檚 50 per cent female. Of the 10 head coaches in the National WomenB次元官网网址檚 Soccer League, on the other hand, three are female, up from just one last year.
When the Leafs hired Wickenheiser, GM Kyle Dubas tried to downplay the significance of the moment. Wickenheiser was the best fit for the job, regardless of gender. And adding more diversity could only help the franchise, he pointed out.
B次元官网网址淩esearch shows that the more diverse your organization, the better your decision making, the better your operation in general,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚f youB次元官网网址檙e only hiring white males, and IB次元官网网址檓 saying that as a white male, youB次元官网网址檙e probably leaving a lot on the table in terms of where your organization can go and how it can think and how it can evolve and develop.B次元官网网址�
ItB次元官网网址檚 a philosophy echoed across the hall at MLSEB次元官网网址檚 basketball franchise. After Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri hired three women for several key off-season positions in the 2017 off-season, he said: B次元官网网址淚t works here for us, because itB次元官网网址檚 worked for me. Hire women. I said that because itB次元官网网址檚 working for us.B次元官网网址�
Teresa Resch, the RaptorsB次元官网网址� VP of basketball operations and player development, hosted a couple of events dubbed B次元官网网址淪he The NorthB次元官网网址� last season to celebrate the work of women in sports.
Michele OB次元官网网址橩eefe is one of the few female policy makers across the world in basketball. The former CEO of Canada Basketball is the FIBA Americas vice-president and lone woman on its executive board. SheB次元官网网址檚 one of five women on FIBAB次元官网网址檚 20-member Central Board.
Often the lone female in a board room full of men, she never feels B次元官网网址渄isrespected.B次元官网网址� But just as business gets done on the golf course, OB次元官网网址橩eefe said her rise to the top included a few beers in the lobby bar.
B次元官网网址淵ou have to put the time in to get to know (men), so if thatB次元官网网址檚 having a beer after dinner, and if everybodyB次元官网网址檚 going to the lobby bar then you need to high-tail your bum into the lobby bar,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檝e got to put the time in. IB次元官网网址檓 not saying you have to stay there all night, but you have to be a part of that conversation, because everybody knows itB次元官网网址檚 the meeting after the meeting, where most of the work is done.
B次元官网网址淚n my opinion, itB次元官网网址檚 always better to be in those conversations than to hear about it the next day.B次元官网网址�
The 32-year-old Tatham, meanwhile, hopes her work with Raptors 905 can help pave a path for other young women to follow.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 hoping women can see (coaching men) as a legit career path, and feel comfortable to go after what they want,B次元官网网址� said Tatham, whoB次元官网网址檚 also an assistant with the University of Toronto womenB次元官网网址檚 team. B次元官网网址淚 think being in my new role will inspire young women to go with their instincts and not be afraid of the unknown. You can never really succeed without taking risks, or betting on yourself first.B次元官网网址�
Lori Ewing, The Canadian Press
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