Evolution in Professionalization of Sports and the Links to Gender Inequality in Management of Athletics and Football in Kenya

Abstract

The professional era of Kenyan sports has allowed women onboard as competitors while limiting their role in top management. This article argues that the interests of stakeholders influence the meaning of sports which in turn influences the gendering of aspects of sports including management. Commercialization is, arguably, the most powerful defining force of professional sports. The article therefore follows the evolution of professionalization to understand the impact of commercialization on gender parity in management of athletics and football in Kenya. It collected and examined primary and secondary data, employed the historical method of external and internal criticism to establish authenticity of sources and veracity of information they provided. It used inductive reasoning to argue. The article established that the combination of professionalization and commercialization of sports with social, cultural and political factors have perpetuated male dominance in management of Kenyan sports.