Monday Markets: Sports Jobs for Women

Are you a woman who loves sports? If you’d like to turn your passion into a career, there might be a growing place for you in the field. Leaving pro players aside, sports careers can include journalists, managers, agents, trainers and coaches. If one of these jobs sounds like your dream career, then keep reading today’s emerging markets post.

What is the Outlook for Women in Sports?
Twenty years ago, you couldn’t find a woman in the front office of any sports organization and you certainly didn’t see any woman doing color commentary on the weekend game. Today, the number of women working in this one all-male bastion has proliferated.

But the news isn’t all good. In sports media, for example, less than 1% of the country’s major newspapers has a woman sports editor. And still less than one in five sports journalists are female. Even still, the outlook is most definitely brighter today than it was ten, or even five, years ago.

How to Break into a Career in Sports: Get an Internship
If you are a woman who wants to jumpstart a career in sports, don’t want for graduation day to start your job search. Look for a college internship to will help you to strengthen your resume, develop some on-the-job skills, and expand your networking within the industry.

Where should you start your search?

• Local sports marketing firm
• National sporting leagues like the NCAA or the NFL
• The front office of a local major (or minor) league team
• Sports department of your local newspaper

Also, set up an appointment with your campus career planning center (most have an internship coordinator) and find time to talk to your academic advisor.

Where Can You Get More Information About Women in Sports?
To learn more about what is involved in a career in sports, start by reading through JobMonkey’s section athletic careers section. Then check out these websites:

• Women in Sports Career (WISC) Network is a Worldwide Online Business and Career Network providing business networking events and career opportunities for women in sports related fields.
• Women’s Sports Foundation is Billie Jean King’s foundation, dedicating to advancing the lives of girls and women through sports. The site has a trove of great information on women in college and pro athletics.
• National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators has a job board plus articles about women in the sports industry.
• The Association for Women in Sports Media is the best starting point to learn more about a career reporting on your favorite team. Be sure to check out the Association’s internship program.