Coaches, Female

Large increases in participation opportunities at all levels of sport for girls and women have opened up more job opportunities for coaches and athletic administrators. The number of girls participating in high school sports has risen from 294,015 in 1971 to an all-time high of 3,114,091 in 2008-09. Similarly, women's participation in intercollegiate sports has also increased to all-time highs. In 1968, there were 16,000 female college athletes; there were 180,000 in 2008. In addition, there are now two professional sport leagues for women: the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and Women's Professional Soccer league.

Despite these dramatic increases in female athletic participation, since 1972 the percentage of females coaching women's intercollegiate athletic teams has steadily decreased every year. For example, in 1972, 90 percent of ...