Com a palavra, as gestoras: a trajetória de mulheres em cargos de gestão nos clubes de futebol do Brasil

Abstract

We know that historically men and women did not have the same opportunities to access the labor market. Women were subjected to the domestic space and men to the economic power as well as family and domestic. However, the situation is also reflected in the sports market, specifically soccer, a sport traditionally made by men and for men. In this sense, we highlight as objective of this study, to understand the performance of women in management positions in professional Brazilian men’s soccer, through their personal trajectories. To this end, a qualitative, descriptive and interpretative study was organized. To collect data, the interview technique was used with four women in positions of board and management in Brazilian soccer clubs in 2017. Data analysis followed the technique of content analysis according to Bardin. Through their discourses on the forms of insertion, the challenges ahead of the club management and the difficulties encountered within the organizational soccer environment, a culturally predominantly masculine environment, were the topics discussed. It was observed that there is an under-representation of women in these posts and constant challenges to exercise their positions, which are institutional. Even women in paid positions in some way in order to stay in their jobs need strategic connections, networking, engagements, and political articulation with men within the club. The difficulties found indicate that soccer still manifests itself as a structuring means of a gender hierarchy. We conclude that women in management positions in Brazilian soccer represent a resistance to occupy spaces traditionally reserved for men, shaking established power structures and questioning established social discourses.