Key Findings from SheCOACH Research

The SheCOACH research, conducted across Cyprus, Greece, Italy, and Spain (April – June 2024), provides critical insights into the current landscape of gender equality in coaching education. Key findings indicate a persistent gender imbalance in coaching roles, with women remaining underrepresented, particularly in leadership positions, due to structural and cultural barriers. The research highlights the lack of gender-inclusive policies in coaching education, as many national and regional coaching programs do not include gender considerations in curricula, training materials, or certification processes. It also underscores limited awareness and training on gender equality, as a significant proportion of coaching educators and trainees lack formal training on gender-sensitive coaching approaches.

Institutional and cultural barriers, including patriarchal norms, gender stereotypes, and unconscious bias, affect how women coaches are perceived and treated within the profession. The research emphasizes the need for targeted mentoring and support networks, as women coaches benefit significantly from structured mentorship, networking opportunities, and targeted leadership training. Survey responses indicate widespread recognition of the importance of integrating gender equality into coaching education but also highlight the lack of concrete strategies for achieving it.

The following graph presents the most commonly reported barriers to gender mainstreaming in coaching education across four partner countries.

Graph 1: Common barriers to gender mainstreaming per country (SheCOACH survey results)

Source: SheCOACH D2.3 Recommendations report to address knowledge gaps in gender mainstreaming (2024), based on data from SheCOACH D2.2 National Reports for Cyprus, Greece, Italy & Spain (2024)

The recent primary research conducted across Cyprus, Greece, Italy, and Spain (SheCOACH D2.3) confirms that awareness alone is insufficient to drive institutional transformation. Across the four countries, fewer than 25% of surveyed coaching education providers reported having any form of gender equality strategy in place. In Greece and Cyprus, this number dropped below 15%, highlighting an urgent need for structured guidance. Furthermore, over 85% of respondents indicated they had never received formal training on gender-sensitive pedagogy or the integration of gender content into coaching curricula. When asked to assess institutional barriers, respondents most frequently cited institutional inertia, lack of awareness among leadership, and limited staff capacity as critical challenges to advancing gender equality in coaching education. These data points underscore the need for a practical, adaptable framework —like the one presented here— to guide institutions through the process of mainstreaming gender across their systems.

These findings reinforce the necessity of a structured gender mainstreaming framework that provides practical solutions for overcoming barriers, equipping institutions with the necessary tools to assess, plan, implement, and monitor gender equality initiatives in coaching education.