Leadership, Sexism and Equality in the Context of Collegiate Forensics

Abstract

In the intercollegiate forensics community, gender inequality has become a topic of interest in the past few years with conversations ranging from why women do not participate in Limited Preparation events and the expectations for dress for women. However, research to date has focused on forensics students and not the people who manage the forensics programs. Perhaps because of their underrepresentation within Forensics, women, in particular, have been overlooked. Although communication researchers have challenged claims that women communicate in less powerful ways, the gender norm of women as more nurturing than men has contributed to a continuing view of leadership as a masculine quality. This study aims to understand forensics students’ perceptions of female and male directors of forensics, using a survey to collect data from two Midwest programs, one directed by two women, another directed by two men. Results will aid in understanding potential differences in ratings of leadership and coaching effectiveness in the forensics community.