Does the Next Generation of Sports Leaders Perceive the Presence of the Glass Ceiling and the Need to Shatter It? Insights of Undergraduate Students

Abstract

The rungs for advancement up the corporate ladder in the sports industry can be slippery for women. Is the next generation of sports leaders aware of this fact? Senior undergraduate sport management students from Canadian universities completed the Career Pathways Survey (CPS) instrument to measure their perceptions of the glass ceiling. Both groups aspire to senior leadership roles. However, only the students who identified as women perceived the presence of a glass ceiling. Sport management students need to be better educated on the presence of the glass ceiling so the benefits of equitable, inclusive, and diverse leadership groups can be realized.