Gender inequality in table tennis: an analysis of women coaches in certification courses

ABSTRACT

Abstract Aim: This study aimed to investigate the presence of women coaches in table tennis certification courses carried out by national and international federations. Methods: We carried out an analysis on documents extracted from the official websites of the Brazilian Table Tennis Confederation (CBTM) and the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). Those documents presented the certificated coaches by each organization. We also collected information about the location of the coach according to the five macro-regions of Brazil. Results: We found a greater frequency of men (89.3%) compared to women (10.7%) in ITTF courses and, in Brazil, we also found a higher rate of men (83.7%) compared to women (16.3%) certified by CBTM. We found no increase in women's participation in ITFF courses over the years. In both national and international courses, most of the women coaches (international = 36%; national = 46.4%) were from the Southeast, while few women coaches were found in the Northeast and North. Conclusion: The findings of our study reveal that the training process of table tennis coaches is still mostly occupied by men. We also found a discrepancy between the macro-regions of the country where most women coaches are from the Southeast. CBTM managed to almost double the women's representation among coaches (from 10.7% to 16%) due to the policy that has been adopted in an attempt to increase the number of women in the sport. We highlight the importance of gender equality policies to improve women coaches' participation in table tennis.