Gender Roles in the Perceived Competence of Personal Trainers
Alyssa Haverdink- Missouri State University
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Thomas Kane
Despite changing gender roles in today’s society, gender-based biases continue to persist. This study attempts to discover what role these gender expectations play in the perceived competence of personal trainers. Participants were shown a flier for a personal trainer (manipulating the independent variables of gender and qualification) and rated their attitude towards them using a modified version of the “Attitudes of Client toward Male and Female Personal Trainers Questionnaire”. (Fisher et al., 2013). The results show that there was a significant difference between the highly and less qualified personal trainers, but there was no significant difference between the gender conditions.
What a great study! It’s so good to see that gender discrimination is on a downward slope in this area. How do you think the results would have varied if other genders were included (i.e. transgender, gender fluid, etc.)?
Thank you so much for viewing my poster! The scope of this study was largely focused on male and female personal trainers, so I was unable to include other gender identities in the study. If I had been able to include additional gender identities , I think the results would have been largely the same, considering that it appears that clients look for a personal trainer who is empathetic, experienced, and willing to communicate, which does not have to include ones gender. Hopefully this helps!
I really enjoyed listening to your presentation! Although we like to see significant results support our hypothesis I am thrilled to see that there was no difference between trainer gender and competence. However, I am curious… did you consider seeing if participant gender affected their perceived qualifications of a gender-specified trainer? For example, would male participants see a female trainer as being less qualified than a male trainer or vice versa?
Haley, thank you for taking the time to view my poster! I also was a bit disappointed with the anticlimactic results, but the more I processed it, the more excited I was that there was no significant difference! I looked a bit into participant gender and how they rated their preferences for personal trainer genders, but due to a small participant pool of male participants, I wasn’t able to find anything conclusive or definitive in that area. Thank you for your comment though, as I extend my research I hope to look more into that area as well!
What a great idea to research! What inspired you to conduct this research? Awesome job!
Grace, thank you for taking the time to look at my research! I chose this topic because I am passionate about women’s rights and fitness, and as a female who is heavily involved in the health and fitness world in my personal life, I was curious if my own experiences would be matched by the data surrounding personal trainers. I have often felt sexualized, belittled, and not taken seriously at the gym and so I began to research this area to see if other women, even women who were professionally trained and worked in this industry, felt the same. That area of personal interest heavily motivated me to pursue this research, and I care deeply about equal opportunity especially in the health and fitness world, so I’m thankful that I got the chance to conduct this research. Thank you for your question that is allowing me to express this passion of mine!
I think your paper is very relevant in the midst of gender-related biases. According to your literature review, male athletes experience more comfort when training with a male than a female trainer. Do you think the opposite is true (i.e. female athletes with a female trainer)?
Another idea/question is whether you have considered expanding your research on gender-based biases on male and female teams? For instance, assessing competence and qualification as you did in your study.
Camilo, thank you for your comment! I have not done specific research on if female athletes feel more comfortable with female athletic trainers, but that would be a great idea to look more into that! From personal experience, there was a difference in how I have interacted with my female coaches compared to my male coaches. I’m sure it can also depend on the type of sport (individual or team) and the level of physical contact (gymnastics as compared to higher contact sports like basketball). I have looked a bit into male/female sports teams in my literature review, and the findings show that the media takes male sports teams more seriously, providing them more coverage in the media and assigning more competence to male athletes. It would be interesting to extend my research in that area as well!
Hi Alyssa! I’m glad to see you continuing this research. We had a conversation about overall gym culture at MSU being so masculine dominated in the free weight section. I think an important part going further would be the type of exercise, as you mentioned. Maybe the type of gym, too! I could see that there may be a difference in perceived competence of trainers at Crossfit vs. Orange Theory vs. Planet Fitness vs. Pure Barre. I love this topic and I appreciate you confronting these issues in fitness!
Sarah, thank you for expressing interest in my research! I do wonder if the type of gym culture affects how people are perceived. I’m sure a limitation on my study was the fact that my participants are college students who likely attend the MSU gym, which is most likely a different atmosphere than another established gym. Great point!