girls girls girls

Hello and welcome to my blog post. For my upcoming autoethnography I am focusing on women who flourish in male dominated environments. This is an environment that has grown me and made me into the woman I am, so I was curious how it has effected other women as well. I am conducting primary research in three areas: women in male dominated households, women in STEM, and women in athletics; three areas I find myself fitting into as well.

For my secondary research I have found a lot of information pertaining to women in male-dominated work places. This site has offered some helpful information about the challenges that women go through that work in these fields, challenges like sexual harassment in their workplace. Another good site talks about how this gap has been created since we were in elementary school in the STEM (science, math, etc.) subjects. It also gives great sources for how change can be made for better representation of women in these fields, perhaps through policy change and changing the way STEM is encouraged at a young age.

“Currently, women represent 42.6% of the head coaches in women’s sports while men represent 57.4% of the head coaches in women’s sports. In contrast, women represent less than 3% of the head coaches in men’s sports.”

– Walker and Bop

There are currently very few female coaches in male-dominated sports such as football and basketball. There is also an immense pay gap in the sports industry, due to fan population and other factors. Just recently, Katie Sowers became the first female coach to get her team to the Super Bowl in the NFL. She is not just notable because she is a female (which should never be the basis of someone’s success, their gender) but she is also an incredible coach. She is the assistant offensive coach for the 49ers. She helped them achieve the status of second in the league for offensive rushing and points.

In terms of women in male-dominated households, there is not too much research done. There is some research regarding family dynamics in households and what genders tend to take on what chores, but there is not much information regarding how this dynamic effects women that were raised with all boys. This has an extremely prominent effect on girls as their childhood, like anyones, is a pivotal time for their development. Being raised alongside all brothers, cousins, etc. absolutely will have an effect on a girl, how she views herself, her confidence level, her personality, how she interacts with other males and females throughout her life, and much more. I hope to find some more research about this topic to support my own experience.