Dual Careers in Women’s Sports: A Scoping Review

Previous reviews on dual careers (DC) provide findings on athletes in general, without reference to gender and perpetuating the under-representation of women. Therefore, this scoping review focuses only on sportswomen in order to get an overview of the current landscape of DC studies in women’s sport. The methodology is based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis statement and recommendations for scoping reviews. The bibliographic search was carried out in the databases: Web of Science, PsycINFO, Scopus, Pro-Quest and SPORTDiscus. Studies on DC with female participants and publications in scientific journals from 2012 onwards were included, and 19 articles were obtained for the analysis and synthesis of current research on women’s sport and DC. The results reveal a progressive increase in publications on sportswomen and DC, a predominance of combining sport and studies, and a gap in studies on work-life balance and critical transitions in women’s sport. This review makes visible and highlights the research carried out on DC and sportswomen, as well as the effect of androcentrism, gender roles and the lack of points of reference in the sporting context. Although it is evident that DC is inherent to women’s sport, it has traditionally been studied and conceptualised based on male models. Therefore, research on this topic should be carried out in a holistic way, using models adapted to the realities of women’s sport and consciously including the different modes of being a woman.