Playing Like a Boy and Working with Men: Linking Sport Participation and Industry Sex Composition

• In Event: 512 - Section on Sex and Gender Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 07. Gendered Experiences in Sport

Abstract

Sport has been hailed as a symbol of masculinity in American society. Through participation in sport, girls and boys are socialized to a masculine, competitive culture that may have long-term consequences for participants in other gendered institutions throughout the life course. Like sport, work has been identified as a gendered institution where women are often relegated to lower-paying positions and more feminized occupations. In this study, I examine whether high school sport participation is associated with industry sex composition during young adulthood. Using longitudinal survey data from the Youth Development Study, I find that females who participate in contact sports, on average, work in industries characterized by a higher proportion of male workers. For males, however, high school sport participation is not associated with young adult industry sex ratio.

Author

• Heather R. McLaughlin, University of Minnesota