– Oi, face couple Henriette Jæger to news. It is news’s review of the Norwegian Olympic squad that the athletics profile reacts to. It shows that only three of a total of 56 Norwegian Olympic coaches are women. The proportion of women, which amounts to just over five percent, Jæger finds strange. – It’s a bit sad. I wish there were a few more women, says Jæger. Photo: Jørgen Figenschou / news Male-dominated environment Her mother, Unn Merete Lie Jæger, is one of the three female coaches in Olympic sports, whom Olympiatoppen was able to present in its team guide to the summer games in Paris. – It is clear that I notice that I am in a male-dominated environment during the day, says Lie Jæger. NEAR SUPPORT PLAYER: Athletics profile Henriette Jæger has her mother, Unn Merete Lie Jæger, as coach. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB She wishes there were more women, but has no good answer as to why there are so few. – This is how it is in top sport as well. We may not have all the girls at the top. There is perhaps something about daring and betting, also as trainers on the same level as men, says Lie Jæger.: – Whether it is accepted as much, I don’t know. I hope that it can turn around, she adds. Most skilled trainers For top sports manager in the Olympic top, Tore Øvrebø, is primarily happy about the three female trainers who are in Paris. – We want to have the most skilled trainers, regardless of gender. We hope that there are more women who want to take the coaching profession seriously, and have a number of measures to make it easier to achieve, he says. Øvrebø emphasizes that it is not a goal in itself to increase the proportion of women, but he sees several positive effects of a more equal gender balance. – The goal of top sport is to win. But we believe that with a reasonable balance between the sexes, the environment will be better, and it will be richer for those who are there. I think that will also affect the results in the end, says Øvrebø. WINNING: Top sports manager Tore Øvrebø is most concerned with winning and believes that there can be positive effects from having more women’s coaches in top sports. Photo: Fredrik Varfjell / NTB Far more athletes than Norway captured a total of eight medals in Paris, half of which were taken by women. Jæger, who made it to the final in the 400 metres, was one of 51 female athletes in the Norwegian Olympic squad. And in Paris there were almost as many Norwegian female athletes (46.8 per cent) as male athletes. In total, there were 49 per cent female athletes in the Olympics. The highest proportion ever. But among those who work closest to the athletes, there are few women. In 14 out of 19 Norwegian Olympic athletes, there were no women listed in the sports support apparatus at all. Distribution of women and men in the Norwegian Olympic squad in Paris Athletes: Women: 51 (46.8 percent women) Men: 58 (53.2 percent men) Total: 109 Coaches: Women: 3 (5.3 percent women) Men : 53 (94.7 per cent men) Total: 56 Coaches and sports support staff in total: Women: 8 (9.5 per cent women) Men: 76 (90.5 per cent men) Total: 84 The support staff of the Olympic Games in Paris: Women: 15 ( 41.6 per cent women) Men: 21 (58.3 per cent men) Total: 36 Source: Olympiatoppen’s team and media guide – That proportion is far too bad. So we have to increase the proportion of female national team coaches and top managers, says Ragnhild Kostøl, professional consultant at Olympiatoppen. MANY ATHLETES: The proportion of women among the athletes in the Norwegian Olympic squad was 46.8 per cent. The same training share was just over five percent. Here is part of the Olympic squad during the opening ceremony in Paris. Photo: Piroschka Van De Wouw / Reuters The former top cyclist is now responsible for seven female trainers in the project “Together for equal opportunities”. It is a project to increase the proportion of underrepresented groups on the coach and manager side of national teams. Kostøl points out that the trainers in Norway are a fairly homogeneous group. – They are often white men over 40. And they can be a little too similar in certain contexts. While the athletes are very different, says Kostøl. Several reasons Kostøl points out that factors that they see affecting women are short contracts, small positions, many days of travel and great pressure. – But that also applies to the male trainers. Why is this a bigger problem for the ladies? – I think women may have a greater need to have security with a view to the long-term perspective, says Kostøl. SEES CAUSES: Ragnhild Kostøl in Olympiatoppen sees that the development of getting more female trainers is slow. Photo: Olympiatoppen Ho is supported by top sports manager Øvrebø. – There is a certain insecurity factor around these roles. Until now, it has been the case that boys clearly have a slightly less developed understanding of financial risk seen from a life-course perspective, says Øvrebø. He uses himself as an example, he himself was a rower without earning money. – I didn’t light anything, kept at it for years and have paid for it. It has something to do with making the sport financially secure and an attractive place to develop. Then the proportion of women will increase, he continued. Through the “Together about equal opportunities” project, Olympiatoppen, among other things, now also supports and contributes with salary funds for the trainers. But Kostøl sees that development is slow. The Olympiatoppen itself has over 40 per cent women among the 36 people, whom they send to Paris to perform a number of different support functions. Among other things, this applies to physiotherapy, media management and cooking. But in the sporting support apparatus for the various sports, over 90 per cent are men. – Many advantages And the picture is quite similar in winter sports. For the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022, there were only two female coaches on the national team in the Norwegian Olympic sports. Henriette Jæger does not see obvious reasons why it has become this way. – Having a female coach as a female athlete has many advantages. And not least a mother. She knows me extremely well, says Jæger. GOING TO THE OLYMPIC FINAL: Henriette Jæger was ready for the Olympic final after a strong run in the semi-final. Photo: Fredrik Varfjell / NTB Mora Unn Merete Lie Jæger underlines that the coaching job for her daughter takes a lot of time in periods. She points out that you lose a bit of the social aspects of life outside of sport. – What do you think can be done to get more women to want to have this type of job? – I don’t know if it should be professionalized more. It would have been a wish, says Lie Jæger. Published 12.08.2024, at 17.24
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Surprised at the failure behind the women’s profiles – only three of 56 Norwegian Olympic coaches are women – Paris 2024 Olympics
