Leading innovative and impactful research that advances gender equity within and beyond sport
The purpose of Sport and Gender Equity @ Griffith research hub is to lead innovative and impactful research that advances gender equity in sport through a multi-disciplinary research hub connecting scholars, practitioners, athletes and advocates.
The research hub aims to:
- contribute to knowledge and practice that addresses the complexity of gender inequities and diversity (intersections with culture/race/Indigeneity, sexuality, disAbility, age) within and beyond sport
- engage in collaborative and innovative research to advance opportunities for women, girls and gender diverse people to lead in all aspects of sport
- educate for sustainable change in classrooms, organisations and the public sphere to transform sport cultures and gender relations
Sustainable Development Goals
Griffith University is aligned to the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is committed to promoting gender equality, decent work and reduced inequalities, working towards a world where opportunities are equal for all, regardless of gender.
Recent publication
Thinking through the Disruptive Effects and Affects of the Coronavirus with Feminist New Materialism
Feature project
Engaging outsiders in sport: Transforming sport event legacy planning
The project aims to investigate intersectional inequities in sport participation for girls, women and non-binary people in Queensland by working with them to envision legacies for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Research projects
RECONFIGURING WOMEN'S PROFESSIONAL SPORT
This research project examines professional women’s competitions (AFL, cricket, football, Rugby League and Rugby Union), their co-existence within their respective national associations and the experiences of contracted women athletes.
EXAMINING CONSUMER-BASED BRAND ASSOCIATIONS
This research aims to provide insights to sport consumption theory and assist managers within sport organisations to position their brands to better attract, retain and develop sport consumers. High quality academic publications and industry reports are anticipated to emerge from this research.
CONTESTING AUSTRALIAN SPORT CULTURE
This project aims to investigate the growing visibility of women in contact sports in Australia and the multiple forces that influence their participation. The project also seeks to generate new knowledge in the area of feminist theory, cultural theory, and sport management.
EQUITY IN SKATEBOARDING
This project aims to identify and understand how issues of equity in skateboarding are being addressed and the milestones and barriers that still face various populations, as well as gaining insights from skateboarding on ethical and cultural issues as it shifts from its subcultural origins to becoming globalised and formalised, including through its inclusion in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
CREATING SAFE AND INCLUSIVE SPORT PRACTICES
- Developing safer cultures and policies to prevent violence against women in Australian Commonwealth Games sports
- Using a ‘gender lens’ to understand how cycle tour events can develop inclusive practices
- What contributes to parkrun’s success and how can it be improved?
- Empowering track & field coaches for para-sport development in the Pacific
- Gendered and racialized fitness cultures on the Gold Coast
GENDER REPRESENTATION IN MAJOR SPORT EVENTS
- How equitable are media representations of sportswomen during major sport events?
- Securing a sport participation legacy for women and girls
- Gendered Representations of Athletes on Social Media #GC2018
- Gender Balance and the International Olympic Committee
Recovering sport and fitness cultures in a post COVID-19 world
Investigating the impact on economic and emotional wellbeing
With the significant disruption of everyday life around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has had particular impacts on Australian cultural practices, including sport and fitness. This project focuses on the impact on economic (job losses, businesses closing) and emotional wellbeing (isolation, loneliness, loss of leisure, joy and meaning) in the sport and fitness sector.
Postgraduate Research Projects
Sexuality, gender and sport leadership
Danielle Warby
This project will examine how sexuality and gender intersect to affect leadership in a sport context in Australia. How women embody leadership in predominantly masculine domains like sport administration has been considered in previous research but sexuality is often sidelined in these articulations. My research will explore the question of who it is possible to be in leadership roles in sport, to bring sexuality into direct relation with leadership to unsettle the masculine heteronormativity of sport. I will explore how leadership is enacted and performed with a goal to queering leadership identity and practices to open up more diverse ways of doing gender.
Supervisors: Dr Adele Pavlidis and Prof. Simone Fullagar
Women and combat sports:
local manifestations, global governance, and the rise of Muay Thai boxing in Australia
Erin Nichols
Why do women fight? As women and girls enter into traditionally masculine sports the uptake of new media technology has had a significant influence on expanding the visual economy of women who fight and the reach of international sporting cultures. Muay Thai, the national sport of Thailand, offers a rich and textured case study to explore the multiple forces that are entangled within the sport-gender-media nexus, as well as the complexities embedded within transnational sporting cultures. This project draws on my experience as a practitioner and coach and aims to build upon previous research engaging a feminist politics within the emergent interdisciplinary field of physical cultural studies. This research seeks to extend a Feminist New Materialist approach to further a generative analysis of women’s physically active moving bodies, and the formal and informal governance structures that enable (and impede) particular subjectivities. Through an exploration of the physical-digital practices of Muay Thai this research aims to illuminate how objectification and bodily relations work and importantly, how such coercive practices might be disrupted within and beyond sport.
Supervisors: Prof. Simone Fullagar and Dr Adele Pavlidis
Podcasts you will love
The Outer Sanctum - Taking Up Space
Celebrating footy upsets, caretaker coaches and diverse athletes who are taking up space. Adele Pavlidis from Griffith University shares her research and anonymous insights into the experiences of AFLW players.
The Gender Card in Sport
Today we look at how gender plays out in sport, and how that affects the society in which we live. Dr Adele Pavlidis is a Griffith University social scientist and specialist in the politics of gender.
Roller Derby, Feminism and Affect
Adele Pavlidis from Griffith University in Brisbane discusses roller derby and why it matters as a site for both feminist politics and the politics of sport.
A Remarkable Tale
In this episode of Remarkable Tales, Fiona McLarty tells us about her newly created role as the Gold Coast SUNS Head of Women’s Football, and is revelling in establishing a culture and work ethic for her AFLW team.
Sport and Gender Equity Seminar Series
Partners
