Exploring Empowerment and Gender Relations in a Sport for Development Program in Papua New Guinea
in Sociology of Sport JournalThere is a growing body of research that has started to carefully consider the increased presence of girls and women in sport-for-development (SFD). The purpose of this study was to contribute to contextual understandings of empowerment by providing a nuanced reading of micro-level interactions that can disrupt traditional gendered relations. Our research explored the emerging outcomes of a SFD program in Papua New Guinea targeted at young women. We hope to foster a greater understanding of women’s experiences in constrained sociocultural contexts and make sense of the lived reality of doing sport-based development work. The results of our qualitative work demonstrate the importance of exploring nuanced, relational, and embodied processes occurring in day-to-day situations that can lead to transformative change in localized settings.
Seal is with the Centre for Sport and Social Impact, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia. Sherry is with the Dept. of Management and Marketing, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia.
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