The “Boys’ Club”, sexual harassment, and discriminatory resourcing: An exploration of the barriers faced by women sport officials in Australian basketball

Abstract

Sport official's experience of abuse in their role is well documented, but the additional gendered barriers that women officials face are not. This study used Concept Mapping to explore the most important and frequent barriers that women referees and officials in Australian basketball face. Results were analyzed according to the Socio-Ecological Framework with a feminist lens, which demonstrated the complexity and interconnectedness of barriers between different levels. While participants were not specifically asked about gendered experiences, the results indicated that barriers were overwhelmingly gendered at every level, including discriminatory resourcing, lack of senior women, and concerningly, incidents of sexual harassment. This research sheds new light on the experience of women officials and the organizational and societal barriers that limit their careers and make their workplace unsafe. Finally, it discusses where the locus of responsibility lies in addressing these issues for women sport officials, placing emphasis on the role of organizations.