ABSTRACT

Although diversity is an often cited organisational value, its support is often muted when it pertains to boards of governance. The aim of this study is to identify discursive practices that may prevent or limit the implementation of measures to increase gender balance in sport governance at the national and international levels. Drawing on a total of 60 qualitative, semi-structured interviews with board members, we explore both the content of and reasons for discursive opposition to implementing gender balance in the governing boards of international and national sport organisations that purport to value diversity. The results demonstrate that board members justify their resistance to gender balance by drawing on discourses of meritocracy, neoliberalism, silence/passivity, and diversity. Resistance to gender balance in sport governance may in part have roots in the sport capital and habitus of board members, and their ability to utilise that in normalising judgment that may keep women out.

摘要

尽管多样性是一个经常被引用的组织价值，但当它涉及到治理委员会时，它的支持往往是无声的。本研究的目的是确定可能阻止或限制在国家和国际层面加强体育治理中性别平衡措施的实施的话语实践。通过对董事会成员进行的总共 60 次定性、半结构化访谈，我们探讨了在声称重视多样性的国际和国家体育组织的董事会中反对实施性别平衡的言论的内容和原因。结果表明，董事会成员通过引用精英统治、新自由主义、沉默/被动和多样性的话语来证明他们对性别平衡的抵制是合理的。