“Stop Ignoring Me. I Am Here. You Will Talk to Me.”: A Phenomenological Examination of Female Interscholastic Athletic Directors’ Perceptions of Their Experience

Since the passing of Title IX as a component of the Education Amendments of 1972, opportunities for girls and women to participate in athletics have increased. In fact, among interscholastic athletics participants in the United States, girls comprise nearly 45% of total participants. Among coaching and administrative positions, however, interscholastic athletics remains a distinctly male-dominated institutional setting. Within this setting, aspiring female interscholastic athletic directors (FIADs) face numerous challenges and barriers navigating the male-dominated field. Such challenges inherently question the role of women in interscholastic athletics leadership while marginalizing their capabilities and qualifications as compared to their male counterparts. Seeking to enable and embolden women in interscholastic athletics leadership, this study sought to examine the perceptions of FIADs currently serving in positions of leadership in interscholastic athletics. Thirteen ( n = 13) FIADs shared their experiences and discussed how they overcame the male-dominated and insulated setting of interscholastic athletics administration to achieve the leadership positions they currently hold.