AMENDED REPORT OF THE
NCAA EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON
GENDER AND DIVERSITY ISSUES
1.
ACTION ITEMS.
a. Senior Woman Administrator (SWA) Designation.
(1) Recommendations. Sponsor legislation as a common provision in three divisions, amending the definition of an SWA as follows:
“An institutional senior woman administrator is the highest ranking female involved with the management of a member institution’s intercollegiate athletics program. An institution with a female director of athletics may designate a different female administrator involved with the management of the member's program as a fifth representative to the NCAA governance system.”
Additionally, in Division I, sponsor legislation to amend the definition of a conference SWA as follows: “A conference senior woman administrator is the highest ranking female involved with administration and policy processes of a member conference’s office.”
Develop a campaign to educate institutions on the appropriate manner in which to designate the senior woman administrator. Share sample job announcements that depict appropriate and inappropriate methods of listing the position.
Incorporate within this educational campaign, specific communication from the NCAA president and/or the NCAA vice president for diversity and inclusion to institutional presidents and/or athletics directors emphasizing the importance of this issue.
(2) Rationale, background and history. The SWA working group was established by the NCAA Executive Committee to review the definition of institutional and conference SWA in all three divisions and clarify the role and designation of the SWA. The group was established, in part, because of concerns raised by NCAA general counsel as to whether the SWA designation could be perceived as a job classification. The general counsel noted equal opportunity employment laws preclude the use of gender as a criterion for employment, unless gender is considered a bona fide occupational qualification. Further, the general counsel noted institutional advertisements for SWA positions, along with other available materials related to the role of the SWA, may have led some to believe this was, in fact, a job description as opposed to a designation. Finally, specific language contained in the NCAA Manual may also contribute to what appears to be a fairly widespread misunderstanding of the role of the SWA. The working group
agreed to address this issue in two phases. The first step was to clarify the SWA designation by amending current legislation, revising publications as needed and educating institutions on the appropriate method of designating an individual as an SWA. It was noted applicable NCAA brochures and Web site listings have been reviewed, edited or deleted as appropriate, pending further action. The recommended legislative amendment eliminates specific references to job duties associated with the SWA that may lend credence to the perception the SWA designation is a job classification. Additionally, the amendment places greater emphasis on the leadership function of the SWA role by replacing “conduct” with “administration.” Finally, this proposal makes consistent the definition of the SWA in all three divisions and, adoption as a common provision, ensures continued consistency.
b.
Native American Mascots.
(1) Recommendation. The subcommittee approved all
recommendations put forth by the NCAA Minority
(2) Rationale. The committee reviewed the M
2. INFORMATIONAL
ITEMS.
a.
Welcome Charlotte
Westerhaus, vice-president of NCAA
b.
MOIC Update. The
MOIC received an update on the
c.
Committee on
Women’s Athletics (CWA) Update. The CWA applauds the formulation
of the NCAA SWA working group and supports its ongoing efforts to ensure the
designation continues to provide a way to include female representation in the
NCAA governance process and to encourage institutions to include females on the
athletics department management team.
The committee also received an update about the CWA’s review of the dichotomy between the philosophical and competitive issues
of male undergraduate student participation in practice activities with
women’s teams. The sentiment
of CWA is the use of male undergraduate students in such situations is in
conflict with its mission and violates the spirit of gender equity and Title
IX. Among other items addressed by
the CWA, staff has organized a working group to determine the parameters
of a forthcoming summit intended to address ongoing
expressions about the challenges confronting athletics personnel attempting to
balance professional and personal commitments. Also, the CWA noted forthcoming changes
in the nomination process of the Woman of the Year award that will recognize
conference winners in each division, thereby, replacing the current state
winner awards. Finally, the CWA
provided an update about the continued success of the Women Coaches Academy in
the professional development of and retention of women coaches.
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