Modeling Women's Empowerment in Sports Management with Emphasis on the Role of the Media

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Physical Education, Ta.C., Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran.

Abstract
Background and Purpose
What is very important here is that perhaps empowerment itself occurs more or less in sports organizations, but the lack of a specific and valid model and also the failure to take advantage of the role of the media, which can have a significant impact in any field today, naturally increases the costs of empowerment of these organizations, and perhaps empowering female employees for women's sports management occurs incompletely and limitedly. Therefore, having an appropriate and valid model for equal empowerment of women and taking advantage of the role of the media in this matter can be of great help in the management of sports organizations. Therefore, in order to scientifically provide the underlying grounds for similar research and also to practically reduce organizational costs (including financial, time, and personnel costs) for empowering women in sports management, the present study was conducted with the aim of modeling women's empowerment in sports management with an emphasis on the role of the media.

Methods
The present study is applied in terms of its purpose, quantitative in terms of data type, field in terms of data collection method, and causal-correlation in terms of data analysis. The participants in this study consisted of women's sports managers and coaches in East Azerbaijan Province, of whom 146 were selected using an accessible and purposeful method, and the selection criterion for individuals was having a management background in sports organizations or an executive and research background in the field of sports management and media. The number of statistical samples was also determined using the GPower software and the information entered into it, including the number of variables (6), measurement error (0.05), and the average impact factor (0.15). The data collection tool in the present study was a researcher-made questionnaire derived from the qualitative findings. To verify the validity, this questionnaire was provided to 10 university sports management professors, and their opinions regarding the research design and validation of the model obtained from the quality of the design were applied based on 1- suitability of the design, 2- correctness of the design, 3- consistency within the design, and 4- analytical adequacy. It was provided to them once again for final verification, which was approved. Also, in order to verify the construct validity of this questionnaire, convergent and divergent validity indices were used, and to verify and verify its reliability, factor loadings, Cronbach's alpha, and composite reliability were used. All indices indicated high validity and reliability of the questionnaire, and their results are reported in detail in the findings section. In the present study, in order to analyze the data, the demographic information of the participants in this study was first described, and then the data were analyzed and the research model was fitted using structural equation modeling and its specific type, namely confirmatory factor analysis with partial least squares in SmartPLS software version 3.1.1 at a significance level of 0.05.

Results
The descriptive findings of the study showed that of the 146 people who participated in the present study, all of whom were women, most of them (51%) were between 40 and 50 years old, 89% of them were married and 11% were single, 55% of the participants had a master's degree, 30% had a doctorate, and 15% had a bachelor's degree, and most of their work experience (53%) was between 10 and 15 years. The results of the study also showed that the research model has a good fit and that causal factors (β=0.801; t=27.245) have a positive and significant relationship with women's empowerment in sports management with an emphasis on the role of the media; Women's empowerment (β=0.517; t=4.392) and contextual factors (β=0.247; t=2.062) have a positive and significant relationship, and intervening factors (β=-0.175; t=2.154) have a negative and significant relationship with strategies and strategies (β=0.889; t=37.771) have a positive and significant relationship with outcomes.

Conclusion
Improving the status and role of women in the field of sports management requires attention to a set of individuals, organizational, and social factors. Providing appropriate platforms, reforming attitudes and policies, and utilizing existing capacities can pave the way for women's progress and more effective presence. Also, the role of environmental support and culture building is very key to the success of this process and can lead to the realization of sustainable development and greater productivity in organizations and society. Therefore, according to the results of this study, it is suggested that sports organizations provide equal opportunities for women by reforming management structures and policies and preventing gender discrimination, that special training and empowerment programs be designed and implemented for women managers to increase their skills and self-confidence, that the media play an active role in promoting women's successes and capabilities, and that by producing positive content, change society's attitude toward women's presence in sports management, and that the support of senior managers and the creation of a justice-oriented organizational culture provide the basis for the successful implementation of empowerment strategies. It should be noted that the present study also had some limitations. This study may not be generalizable to all sports communities and organizations due to geographical and cultural constraints. The data were also collected mainly based on the participants' self-reports, which increases the possibility of bias. Also, some influential factors such as macro policies or economic conditions have not been fully investigated. Therefore, considering the results and the limitations of the study, it is recommended that future researchers conduct comparative studies in other management areas and different countries to examine the differences and similarities in the process of women's empowerment, examine the role of macro policies and supportive laws in promoting the status of women in sports management, and study the impact of new technologies and social networks as new media tools in empowering women in sports management.

Article message
Providing appropriate platforms, reforming attitudes and policies, and utilizing existing capacities can pave the way for women to progress and become more effective in sports management.
Ethical Considerations
In the present study, all ethical considerations were observed, including voluntary participation in the study, confidentiality of information with the authors, etc.
Authors’ Contributions

Conflict of Interest
There are no conflicts of interest in the present study.
Acknowledgments
The present research is an extract from a doctoral dissertation, and we would like to express our gratitude to all those who participated in all stages of this research.

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