{"id":8319,"date":"2017-11-16T19:15:45","date_gmt":"2017-11-16T19:15:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/?p=8319"},"modified":"2020-08-20T17:09:10","modified_gmt":"2020-08-20T17:09:10","slug":"women-of-influence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/2017\/11\/16\/women-of-influence\/","title":{"rendered":"Women of influence"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cOnly priests and participants\u2019 fathers can be anywhere near the pool,\u201d three St. Catherine\u2019s nuns echoed in protest as Augsburg\u2019s 1963 swim instructor, Malcolm \u201cMac\u201d Gimse, led then-20-year-old Joyce Pfaff \u201965<\/strong> and three other physical education majors onto the pool deck.<\/p>\n

Gimse reluctantly exited the building, but as the Auggies lined up at water\u2019s edge, \u201cGO AUGSBURG\u201d boomed from the stands. Pfaff looked up, and there was her instructor, wearing a big smile and a clerical collar.<\/p>\n

Call it obstinate or call it resolute, but Pfaff adopted that tenacity\u2014and it helped her climb over, chisel away, and bust down a decade\u2019s worth of walls in women\u2019s athletics and coaching prior to the passage of Title IX, a federal law that allows women access to any federally funded educational program or activity. So, it comes as no surprise that Augsburg\u2019s first women\u2019s athletic director is \u201cbeyond proud\u201d that a recent report ties Augsburg with Macalester College as the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference\u2019s schools with the most female head coaches.<\/p>\n

This distinction, out of the University of Minnesota\u2019s Tucker Center for Research on Women and Girls in Sport, is particularly encouraging as national studies point to dramatic decreases in women coaching women\u2019s sports. When Title IX was passed in 1972, women coached 90 percent of women\u2019s collegiate athletic teams. Today, only about 40 percent of those teams are led by female coaches, according to the NCAA.<\/p>\n

Augsburg hits national average out of the park<\/h2>\n

\"Four<\/a>Pfaff coached at a time before women\u2019s athletics were\u00a0afforded official equipment or facilities. In fact, Pfaff helped build Augsburg\u2019s first softball field. Today, she remains confident in Augsburg\u2019s ability to advance equality. According to the Tucker Center, Augsburg leapt from having slightly more than 36 percent female head coaches in 2014 to nearly 73 percent in 2017.<\/p>\n

\u201cThink of how far we\u2019ve come,\u201d Pfaff said. \u201cAugsburg\u2019s first volleyball coach, Mary Timm \u201981<\/strong>, could \u2018afford\u2019 to coach for us because she had a full-time job as a day care supervisor, and she used vacation time to travel with the team. Today, Augsburg has more women\u2019s teams (11) than men\u2019s (10), and the Athletic Department works hard to create an equitable, forward-thinking, and inclusive culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Augsburg Athletic Director Jeff Swenson \u201979<\/strong> and Associate Athletic Director Kelly Anderson Diercks<\/strong> appreciate the Tucker Center\u2019s acknowledgement of Augsburg\u2019s dedication to women\u2019s athletics. University leaders are ever-vigilant in their efforts to support all coaches, staff, and student-athletes in achieving a well-balanced life.<\/p>\n

\u201cCoaching demands all of you and more, with 365-day recruiting on top of practices, planning, and leading student-athletes in competition and out in their everyday lives,\u201d said Swenson, who has worked at Augsburg for more than 36 years. \u201cWe are committed to work-life integration. The best coaches are ful lled, healthy, and productive members at home and in the community\u2014 an approach to life we want to mirror for our student-athletes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anderson Diercks recruits coaches and advises student-athletes interested in transitioning from court to clipboard. She is keenly aware of the factors contributing to the diminishing number of female coaches across the U.S. and emphasizes that even if you\u2019re in a position of success, there\u2019s still room for improvement.<\/p>\n

\u201cCollege athletic departments need to do a better job of recruiting and retaining women coaches through mentoring, professional development, and supportive cultures,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd it is critically important that this conversation is not just about women coaching women. It should be about women in coaching, which includes women coaching boys and men. It\u2019s vital for all students to see women as role models in all professions, including athletics.”<\/p>\n

Popularity of women\u2019s athletics contributes to decline in coaching equity<\/h2>\n

\"Cross<\/a>The NCAA\u2019s findings suggest that a major factor contributing to the decline of women coaching women is, ironically, tied to the boom of women\u2019s athletics. With increased popularity came expanded staffs and higher salaries, attracting men\u2014particularly longtime assistant coaches\u2014to lead women\u2019s teams. And while 60 percent of women\u2019s teams are coached by men, according to the study, women guide only about 3 percent of men\u2019s teams. Roughly 80 percent of collegiate athletic directors are men.<\/p>\n

Is a solution to ignore gender? \u201cAbsolutely not,\u201d Anderson Diercks said. \u201cLike any dimension of diversity, to ignore or deny a part of someone\u2019s identity does not allow them to show up as their fullest and best self, and then we all miss out. There is richness in diversity, and women are an important part of that diversity, especially in the athletic arena.\u201d<\/p>\n

A coaching job is demanding, with long hours, travel, and high expectations, but those pressures can be overcome, Swenson said. The more universities exemplify work-life balance, the more family-oriented student-athletes, regardless of gender, will be drawn to the profession, he added.<\/p>\n

Negative perceptions still cast a shadow<\/h2>\n

\"Cross<\/a>Stigmas, misconceptions, and high stakes also contribute to the decline in women seeking and maintaining leadership roles in university athletics, according to the NCAA. Interviews with female coaches across the U.S. drew out comments about increasing demands, assumptions about female coaches\u2019 sexuality, and perceived gender bias. Augsburg Women\u2019s Hockey Head Coach Michelle McAteer<\/strong> said if she could squash an assumption curbing female coaches, it would be the belief that \u201call women are catty and emotional.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSince women hold fewer leadership positions in all realms\u2014 from athletics and business to politics\u2014we are put under a microscope and our actions are generalized,\u201d she said. \u201cWomen in leadership need to become the norm and not the exception in order to combat these myths so we can get onto the business of empowering those we lead (and winning games).\u201d<\/p>\n

And she would know. McAteer, who led the Augsburg women\u2019s hockey team to its highest MIAC finish since the \u201990s, played for female coaches throughout her high school and college years. These models of \u201cstrength, resolve, and compassion\u201d gave her confidence and an awareness of her role now, as a coach, to model those values for the next generation, she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a responsibility I care deeply about.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Pfaff, this and other reflections from today\u2019s women coaches signal that the legacy she and others fought to instill is holding strong. Sure, there always is yet another contest to win, she said, but what\u2019s the fun in not having a fight? The best part, for Pfaff, is knowing that Augsburg is on the right side of the field\u2014maybe even the infield she helped grade for Augsburg\u2019s first softball diamond.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s vital for all students to see women as role models in all professions, including athletics.<\/p>\n

\u2014Kelly Anderson Diercks, associate athletic director<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cOnly priests and participants\u2019 fathers can be anywhere near the pool,\u201d three St. Catherine\u2019s nuns echoed in protest as Augsburg\u2019s 1963 swim instructor, Malcolm \u201cMac\u201d Gimse, led then-20-year-old Joyce Pfaff \u201965 and three other physical education majors onto the pool deck. Gimse reluctantly exited the building, but as the Auggies lined up at water\u2019s edge, <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":278,"featured_media":8322,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[84],"class_list":["post-8319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-stories","tag-fall-winter-2017"],"wps_subtitle":"Augsburg outscores national average of female coaches, supports inclusive culture across Athletics department","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/278"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8319"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10325,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8319\/revisions\/10325"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}