Breaking Barriers: Female Officials' Motivations and Experiences in Male-Dominated Officiating Environments

In most sports, more male than female officials are recruited and retained. The limited research focusing on female sport officials suggests that their experiences are frequently negative. Further understanding of female sport officials' experiences is imperative for learning more about their intentions to begin and continue as officials. The purpose of this study was to explore the positive and negative experiences of female officials who operated in sports where the officials were primarily male. Nine sport officials participated in semistructured interviews. Thematic analysis was used to identify and code common themes within the data, many of which aligned with the principles of self-determination theory. The main themes discussed herein are (a) the female experience, (b) facilitators, and (c) barriers. Recommendations are provided, which might contribute to future policy changes that lead to increased recruitment and retention of female officials.