Today’s episode of The Mettleset Podcast is brought to you by New Balance 👟
One of the biggest myths in sport?
That women experience stress more intensely than men, and cope less effectively.
In this episode recorded live at the Emirates Sports Medicine Conference, sports psychologist and researcher Dr. Mariana Kessler breaks down why that long-held belief simply isn’t true.
Drawing from years of research into stress, coping, wellbeing, and gender differences in athletes, Dr. Mariana explains what the science actually shows, and why women’s experiences in sport often feel more stressful for reasons that have nothing to do with biology or ability.
She dives into the real issue: the systemic barriers women face every day in sport. From microaggressions to under-representation to male-dominated research frameworks, Dr. Mariana highlights how the environment shapes stress far more than individual traits.
We also unpack the four areas in sport where the gender gap remains most visible, research, representation, media visibility, and funding, and what needs to change to close those gaps.
Follow Dr. Mariana on LinkedIn: Dr. Mariana Kaiseler
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Credits:
🚲 The Mettleset is a multimedia platform and online community dedicated to sharing stories of underrepresented athletes and underreported sports from the Middle East and beyond. With a mission to diversify the sporting ecosystem, it is one of the first and only sports platforms in the Middle East to put women in sport first, while also featuring niche sporting communities such as action and endurance sports.
I hope you enjoy the episode!