Imposter feelings explain the link between vulnerabilities to stereotype threat and need satisfaction in elite female coaches

At the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games females comprised 13% of accredited coaches. Underlying this issue are the gendered stereotypes that empower men but impede women’s path to elite coaching. We aimed to examine the link between stereotype threat and Imposter Feelings in elite coaches worldwide for the first time. We examined the link between stereotype threat, imposter phenomenon, and the satisfaction and frustration of the basic needs for Autonomy, Relatedness, and Competence (Ryan & Deci, 2000; Longo et al., 2016). One hundred and eighty-two elite coaches, including 115 men (63.2%) and 52 women (28.6%) from all continents completed an online survey. Female coaches with greater Imposter Feelings felt greater Gender Identification and Gender Stigma Consciousness, both vulnerabilities to stereotype threat. They also experienced less satisfaction, and more frustration of their basic needs. The influence of Gender Identification and Gender Stigma Consciousness on the frustration of basic needs was explained by Imposter Feelings. Coaches who reported feeling greater Gender Identification and Gender Stigma Consciousness also reported greater Imposter Feelings. These Imposter Feelings in turn increased the frustration that coaches felt in attempting to satisfy their need for Autonomy, Relatedness, and Competence. Consequently, our findings revealed that gender-based stereotype threat effects on satisfaction operated through Imposter Feelings. Experiencing greater perceived stereotype threat thwarted the satisfaction of psychological needs that lead to intrinsic motivation. This has implications for other leadership positions in sport (e.g., technical officials or high-performance directors), as decreases in motivation are a well-known predictor of withdrawal from many workplaces.