Gender Equity in Coaching Self Assessment Tool

Welcome to the Gender Equity in Coaching Self-Assessment Tool! This tool includes a series of questions to help sport leaders understand organizational strengths and identify potential gender inequities. By completing the tool, you will receive practical actions to take to affect change in your organization and you will receive access to useful resources to support your journey.

The Gender Equity in Coaching Self-Assessment tool is grounded in research evidence and current best practice to advance women in coaching. The tool focuses on key areas of an organization that can be changed by organizational leadership. These areas include:

Governance & Policies
Strategies & Operation
Coach Recruitment & Advancement
Capacity Building & Training
Environment & Culture
Programs & Initiatives
Funding & Resources
Marketing & Communications
Measuring & Celebrating Success

Upon completion of the tool, sport leaders will receive concrete feedback to create meaningful and sustainable actions that will improve the conditions for women in coaching.

There are 10 sections in this tool, and it will take approximately 20-30 minutes to complete. Please answer the questions to the best of your knowledge, or you can select ‘N/A’ (Not Applicable) or ‘Unknown’.

Once completed, select ‘Submit’ to see your organization’s results and detailed recommendations to advance gender equity across each key focus area.

To save your responses along the way, login or register:

Gender Equity in Coaching: Self-Assessment Tool

Step 1 of 10

10%

Demographics

Click here for a glossary of terms you will see in this tool.

Organization Name

Please answer the following questions to share the demographic breakdown of your (1) volunteer and (2) paid coaches, and (3) recreational and (4) competitive coaches to the best of your knowledge. If you don’t have this information, you can skip to the next section.

1. How many volunteer coaches does your organization have? (provide approx. numbers below)

a. Men

b. Women

c. Non-binary/ Gender Non-conforming /Agender

d. Unknown or N/A

e. Total

1b. Do any of these volunteer coaches identify with an equity-deserving group? If yes, please input approximately how many coaches identify with the following equity-deserving groups:

Yes

Unknown

f. An Indigenous Person (s)

g. Person(s) of Colour

h. Person(s) with a Disability

i. Newcomer(s) (residing in Canada for 5 years or less)

j. LGBTQI2S+

k. Other

2. How many paid coaches does your organization employ? (provide approx. numbers below)

a. Men

b. Women

c. Non-binary/ Gender Non-conforming / Agender

d. Unknown or N/A

e. Total

2b. Do any of these paid coaches identify with an equity-deserving group? If yes, please input approximately how many coaches identify with the following equity-deserving groups:

Yes

Unknown

f. An Indigenous Person(s)

g. Person(s) of Colour

h. Person(s) with a Disability

i. Newcomer(s) (residing in Canada for 5 years or less

j. LGBTQI2S+

k. Other

3. How many recreational coaches (e.g. grassroots) does your organization employ? (provide approx. numbers below)

a. Men

b. Women

c. Non-binary/ Gender Non-conforming/ Agender

d. Unknown or N/A

e. Total

3b. Do any of these coaches identify with an equity-deserving group? If yes, please input approximately how many coaches identify with the following equity-deserving groups:

Yes

Unknown

f. An Indigenous Person (s)

g. Person(s) of Colour

h. Person(s) with a Disability

i. Newcomer(s) (residing in Canada for 5 years or less)

j. LGBTQI2S+

k. Other

4. How many competitive (e.g. high-performance) coaches does your organization have? (provide approx. numbers below)

a. Men

b. Women

c. Non-binary/ Gender Non-conforming/ Agender

d. Other

4b. Do any of the high performance coaches identify with an equity-deserving group? If yes, please share approximately how many coaches identify with the following equity-deserving groups:

Yes

Unknown

e. An Indigenous Person (s)

f. Person(s) of Colour

g. Person(s) with a Disability

h. Newcomer(s) (residing in Canada for 5 years or less)

i. LGBTQI2S+

j. None of the above

Governance & Policies

Click here for a glossary of terms you will see in this tool.

Key to success: Gender equity in coaching is prioritized and actioned at the governance and senior leadership level of an organization through policies and active communication. These initiatives demonstrate an organizational commitment to gender equity in coaching.

1. Does your organization have a policy mandating that your Board of Directors and Senior Leaders are inclusive of all genders?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

2. Does your organization have a policy mandating that your Board of Directors and Senior Leaders have diverse representation?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

3. Does your organization have implementation plans that operationalize the policies which include gender equity goals and targets in coaching?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

4. Does your organization have gender equity goals and targets for Senior Leaders and Board of Directors?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

5. Does your organization have a publicly available gender equity and inclusion policy that outlines its commitment to gender equity among coaches?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

6. Do your Board of Directors and Senior Leaders proactively communicate the importance of gender equity in coaching both internally and externally?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

c. Strategies & Operations

Click here for a glossary of terms you will see in this tool.

Key to success: Ensuring that gender equity in coaching is embedded and prioritized in the organization’s overall strategies and operations leads to tangible action.

1. Does your organization’s strategic plan include goals for advancing gender equity in coaching?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

2. Does your organization’s operational plan include tangible actions to advance gender equity in coaching?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

3. Does your organization have a vision for gender equity in coaching?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

4. Does your organization have clear values that signal its commitment to gender equity and inclusion?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

5. Does your organization dedicate resources (funding, human resource) to gender equity initiatives and programs in coaching?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

Coach Recruitment & Advancement

Click here for a glossary of terms you will see in this tool.

Key to success: Having transparent coach recruitment, selection, and advancement processes with bias-mitigating mechanisms in place is important to ensure fair and equitable coach selection.

1. Does your organization have a strategy to recruit women as coaches?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

2. Does your organization have a strategy to retain and/or mentor women as coaches?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

3. Is diversity or intersectionality, beyond gender, considered in your strategy to recruit, retain or mentor women as coaches?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

4. Are all available coaching positions posted for anyone to apply?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

5. Does your organization ensure that search and selection committees are gender-balanced?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

6. Does your organization utilize bias-free selection processes such as objective scorecards and standardized interview questions?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

7. Are there clear and transparent coach selection criteria at all levels of the sport?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

8. Are the coach development pathways and relevant career development pathways clearly outlined and well communicated?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

9. Are women coaches offered and actively encouraged to attend training or professional development opportunities to advance in their coaching careers?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

10. Are women coaches actively encouraged to apply for promotions or job postings that advance their coaching careers?(Required)

Yes

Unsure N/A

Capacity Building & Training

Click here for a glossary of terms you will see in this tool.

Key to success: Educating coaches and key decision makers on gender equity, diversity, inclusion and anti-oppression leadership, ensures the application of these principles within the organizational culture, programs and practices.

1. Does your organization communicate the importance of gender equity and diversity training as a part of all staff members’ ongoing professional development?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

2. Do coaches, managers, team personnel and leaders receive innovative training on gender equity, diversity, and inclusion from a diverse range of organizations, such as unconscious bias or anti-oppression training?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

3. Do all coaches possess the competencies to coach women and girls, and individuals from equity-deserving groups?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

4. Does your organization ensure that the skills learned through gender equity and diversity training are implemented in the organization?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

Environment & Culture

Click here for a glossary of terms you will see in this tool.

Key to success: Safe, welcoming and inclusive environments for women coaches need to be actively created and fostered so that women can reap the benefits of sport leadership, and sport can reap the benefits of diverse leadership.

1. Does your organization clearly communicate a culture that values women coaches and teams?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

2. Does your organization have a robust and well-communicated Safe Sport framework – including a clear policy and consequences for non-compliance, a communication plan, and well-developed mechanisms to handle complaints about harassment and discrimination?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

3. Are there well-communicated expectations of appropriate behaviours in all environments of the sport? (e.g., the rule of two at events, training, travel, competitions, programs, etc.).(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

4. Does your organization offer flexible or family-friendly coaching arrangements (e.g., co-coaching/job sharing, childcare support, caregiver arrangements)?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

Programs & Initiatives

Click here for a glossary of terms you will see in this tool.

Key to success: Programs that are designed, implemented and resourced with a gender equity lens help ensure equitable opportunities for the advancement of women in coaching.

1. Does your organization offer coach development programs or initiatives that are designed specifically to meet the needs of women?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

2. Are all existing coach development programs regularly reviewed with a gender and diversity lens to mitigate barriers to participation by women and individuals from equity-deserving groups?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

3. Does your organization actively develop women as Learning Facilitators, Evaluators and Program Leaders for coaching programs?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

4. Do your events and programs take into account gender equity and diversity considerations (childcare, accessibility, religious observations etc.)?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

Funding & Resources

Click here for a glossary of terms you will see in this tool.

Key to success: Fair and equitable allocation of funds and resources are tangible ways to signal a strong commitment to advancing gender equity in coaching.

1. Does your organization allocate equitable proportions of resources and funding to all teams and development programs?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

2. Does your organization conduct pay equity audits for coaching positions regularly?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

3. Does your organization actively seek funding to allocate to initiatives and practices to advance gender equity in coaching?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

4. Is there a well-resourced committee or paid staff member responsible for advancing gender equity in the organization?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

5. Does your organization seek out opportunities for women to participate in external/existing programs if funding is not available?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

Marketing & Communications

Click here for a glossary of terms you will see in this tool.

Key to success: An organization that actively communicates its commitment to gender equity in coaching through its marketing and communication efforts signals a culture that is safe, welcoming and inclusive of women.

1. Are women coaches regularly acknowledged and profiled as role models with a focus on their skills, achievements and contributions?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

2. Is the importance of gender equity in coaching communicated in all publications (internal and external)?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

3. Does your organization utilize images that are representative of the diversity in the population and inclusive language in all marketing activities and communications?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

4. Does your organization ensure diverse genders are represented in all marketing activities and communications?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

5. Does your organization recognize the contributions, skills and expertise of diverse women coaches in award and recognition programs?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

Measuring & Celebrating Success

Click here for a glossary of terms you will see in this tool.

Key to success: Monitoring and evaluating gender equity efforts in coaching allows organizations to be accountable for change, increase buy-in from stakeholders, celebrate and share successes.

1. Does your organization collect and analyze coaching and participation data by gender, race and other diversity metrics?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

2. Does your organization act to improve on results and findings of coaching and participation data?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

3. Are evaluations conducted for all coaching programs in terms of participation demographics and content to identify gaps and areas of improvement?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A

4. Does your organization conduct or facilitate culture or engagement surveys with current and former coaches and athletes to gain insights into their experiences?(Required)

Yes

Unsure or N/A