Overcoming the Unique Pressures Facing Female Athletes: Insights from Research and Practical Strategies for Success
Female athletes face unique pressures that can impact their wellbeing and performance. In my recent research findings, I discovered a multifaceted impact of sexism on female athletes and how these additional pressures can have a significant effect on their performance and wellbeing. Through a mixed methods approach, I identified how exposure to sexism increased anxiety in female athletes. My participants shared their experiences of persistent barriers to progression, the impact on mental skills, as well as the impact on identity and mental health. In this blog post, I share my key findings and offer ideas for creating more inclusive environments for female athletes.
As an athlete, sport psychologist or coach, you won't want to miss these important takeaways to put into action.
How can performance be impacted?
Choices and opportunities
Female athletes face many systemic barriers to progression that prevent them from reaching their full potential. These barriers include discriminatory practices, such as the gender pay gap and lack of opportunities and resources. These barriers can create a hostile and unwelcoming environment, which can discourage women from participating in sports and limit their ability to progress in their careers.
Additionally, cultural and environmental factors can also act as barriers to progression. For example, women may face safety concerns when training, or may feel pressure to conform to certain societal expectations about what it means to be a "feminine" athlete. These factors can impact their motivation and confidence, making it difficult for them to perform at their best.
Societal pressures
Societal pressures regarding femininity can impact female athletes' performance by focusing attention on their appearance rather than their athleticism. Female athletes often face objectification and sexualization, which can detract from their value as athletes and instead focus on their appearance. This can create additional pressure to conform to certain standards of femininity, which can be difficult to navigate. Additionally, the media can play a role in perpetuating these societal pressures. The media often focuses on female athletes' appearance rather than their performance, which can create unrealistic expectations and increase anxiety and self-doubt. This can impact their confidence and performance on the field.
Mental skills
Female athletes often face additional pressures and discrimination that can impact their mental skills, which are crucial for consistent performance. These pressures can include experiences of sexual harassment, which can disrupt concentration and confidence, as well as the trivialization of sporting performance, which can demotivate and impact career advancement. These negative experiences can lead to declines in concentration and self-confidence, as well as negative self-talk, which can all impact performance. Additionally, female athletes may feel self-conscious about their appearance while exercising, leading to demotivation and lower performance. However, exposure to sexism can also motivate some female athletes to disprove stereotypes and perform at a higher level.
Impact on physiology
Exposure to sexism can have a significant impact on the anxiety states of female athletes. Research has shown that sexist experiences can affect psychophysiological stress responses, leading to negative health outcomes. For example, individuals who perceive more sexism have higher cortisol levels in response to sexist discrimination, indicating the negative impact of prolonged activation of stress responses. Sexist stressors have also been found to have both acute and prolonged influences on cardiovascular reactivity, which can impact cognition and affect. In the current study, exposure to sexism conveyed a stress response in our participants by measuring Heart rate variability. Further research is needed to better understand the impact of sexist discrimination on anxiety states in sports and its influence on performance. These findings highlight the importance of addressing the impact of sexism on anxiety states in female athletes, in order to support their mental health and well-being.
How can well-being be impacted?
Self-esteem and Identity
The additional pressures that female athletes face, including discrimination and diminishment, can significantly impact their wellbeing. These negative experiences can affect self-esteem, self-worth, self-confidence, and perceptions of their own athletic abilities. Chronic exposure to stressors is found to impact identity, leading to feelings of insecurity and a lack of confidence in their own talent, which can negatively affect their overall mental health.
Mental health difficulties
Female athletes face significant pressures that can impact their mental health, including anxiety and depression. Exposure to sexism can contribute to these mental health difficulties, as well as impacting motivation to persist in sports. Body image pressures can also be a factor in the development of mental health difficulties, such as eating disorder pathology. These pressures can be perpetuated through social media and can lead to a toxic focus on appearance rather than physical health. The pressure to conform to societal norms of femininity can also lead to avoidance of beneficial exercises and the development of eating disorder symptoms. It is important for female athletes to be aware of these pressures and to prioritize their mental health in order to maintain overall well-being and continue to excel in their sport.
What can we do about it?
Sport psychologists and coaches can play a crucial role in addressing the issues faced by female athletes. A potential intervention that could be utilized is the development of self-compassion in female athletes. Self-compassion has been found to be negatively related to social physique anxiety, objectified body consciousness, and fear of negative evaluation in female athletes, and to reduce self-critical thinking, rumination, and anxiety over errors. Additionally, it is important for sport psychologists and coaches to be aware of the dangers of body image expectations and the diminishment of female athletic performance that are perpetuated in society, and to address these issues systematically across all levels of female sporting environments. Further research is needed to better understand the impact of these issues and the most effective interventions to address them.
Here are a few takeaways that sport psychologists and coaches can put into practice in supporting female athletes:
Address the impact of sexism: Sports psychologists and coaches can work with female athletes to address the impact of sexist discrimination and harassment on their mental health and well-being. This may involve creating a safe and inclusive environment for athletes to discuss their experiences and providing support and resources for coping with the effects of sexism.
Promote self-compassion: Helping female athletes develop self-compassion may be an effective intervention for reducing self-critical thinking and anxiety, as well as improving overall mental health. Sports psychologists and coaches can work with athletes to cultivate self-compassion through techniques such as mindfulness and self-kindness. Get in touch to discuss team workshops that can introduce these ideas and embed key skills.
Encourage physical activity for physical health rather than appearance: It is important to promote physical activity as a means of improving physical health rather than just focusing on appearance. This can help to reduce the pressure on female athletes to conform to certain body image expectations and may reduce the risk of developing eating disorder pathology.
Support mental health: Sports psychologists and coaches can provide support and resources for female athletes struggling with mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. This may include providing information about mental health resources, referrals to clinical services, promoting healthy coping strategies, and helping athletes develop healthy self-care habits. Get in touch if you would be interested in our self-management of mental health workshop for teams!
Foster a positive team culture: Building a positive team culture that is inclusive and supportive can help female athletes feel more comfortable and confident in their sporting environment. Sports psychologists and coaches can work with athletes to create a culture that promotes respect and support for all team members.
Here are key takeaways for female athletes about managing the impact of their experiences:
Developing self-compassion skills
Practice self-kindness: Start by showing yourself understanding and care when you are experiencing distress or failure. This can be as simple as speaking to yourself in a kind and supportive way or treating yourself with the same compassion that you would show to a friend.
Acknowledge common humanity: Remember that you are not alone in your struggles and that others have experienced the same challenges and setbacks. This can help you to feel less isolated and more connected to others.
Be mindful: Pay attention to your thoughts and feelings without judgement. Notice when you are being self-critical or overly harsh, and try to respond with self-compassion instead.
Seek support: Starting to develop self-compassion can be difficult on your own, the negative way of relating to ourselves didn’t arrive overnight, nor will developing an alternative approach be automatic. Consider getting in touch! I can provide guidance and encouragement as you develop this skill.
Prioritize your physical and mental health: It is important to prioritize your physical and mental health, particularly if you are facing challenges or adversity in your sport. This can include seeking out appropriate medical care, finding time to rest and relax, and seeking support from mental health professionals if needed.
Advocate for change: If you feel comfortable doing so, it can be helpful to speak out about any issues you are experiencing and advocate for change. This can help bring attention to the issue and potentially lead to changes that can benefit all female athletes.
Seek out inclusive environments: Look for environments and teams that are supportive and inclusive of female athletes, and that have policies and procedures in place to address discrimination and harassment.
If you are interested in these ideas please don't hesitate to get in touch. Together, we can create a better future for female athletes and support their success and well-being.
See my full paper write up here
