Challenges of Women’s Sports Management

Abstract

The objective of this study was to explore and explain the multidimensional challenges faced by women in sports management positions within the sociocultural and organizational context of Tehran. This study employed a qualitative research design grounded in an interpretive paradigm to capture the lived experiences of women involved in sports management. Data were collected through semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 21 participants who were actively engaged in managerial, administrative, or policy-related roles in sports organizations in Tehran. Participants were selected using purposive sampling, and data collection continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. Interviews were audio-recorded with informed consent, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using inductive qualitative content analysis. NVivo software was used to manage, code, and organize the data. The analytical process involved open coding, categorization, and theme development through constant comparison and iterative refinement to ensure analytic rigor. The analysis yielded four overarching categories of challenges affecting women’s sports management: structural and institutional barriers, sociocultural and normative constraints, individual and professional challenges, and gendered organizational cultures and management practices. The findings indicate that formal policies often fail to translate into substantive authority for women, while entrenched gender stereotypes and cultural expectations undermine leadership legitimacy. Organizational environments were found to reproduce masculine norms through biased evaluation systems, informal power networks, and exclusionary communication practices. At the individual level, prolonged exposure to these conditions contributed to psychological strain, reduced motivation, and constrained career advancement. The findings demonstrate that challenges in women’s sports management are systemic and interrelated, requiring multi-level interventions that address institutional structures, organizational cultures, and sociocultural norms to enable meaningful and sustainable gender equity in sports leadership.