Omsorgskapital i idrætten

Ulla Habermann og Laila Ottesen: Care-capital in sports organisations During the 18th and 19th century, sport was invented by and for men. Although women’s participation in sport activities in Denmark has increased since then and approaches the level of men’s involvement, women’s presence on the executive and decision making bodies of sports organisations is still limited. In 2003, women filled only 1/3 of the decision-making positions in sports organisations. Women and men choose different sports and different ways of organising their activities; and too, the way women and men take part in voluntary work in sports organisations differs substantially. This is a general societal pattern: women’s participation in civil society takes a different path from men’s. Here women often undertake a caring role; and they are over-represented i n humanitarian, religious and social organisations. This article discusses how this traditional female role is seemingly repeated in sports organisations and some reasons for this. In doing this, the article emphasises the value of the idea of “care-capital“, understood as a crucial part of social capital in seeking an understanding of women’s role in sports organisations