Exploring the Contextual and Intervening Factors of Glass Ceiling Formation in Women Sports Management in Iran

This research, by taking a qualitative approach and data-based methodology, aims to investigate the contextual and intervening elements leading to the formation of glass ceiling Iranian women face in sports management. The data were collected through studying the documents and semi-structured interviews. In order to obtain the information, 16 experienced experts were chosen by snowball sampling method. The data were analyzed through 3 steps of open, axial, and selective coding of the contextual and intervening elements. According to the obtained results, the central issue includes outdated social contexts and inter-individual interactions, dysfunctional economic and organizational systems, and lack of necessary legal frameworks. In case of contextual elements, 62 codes or primary concepts were extracted from the interviews. The codes were classified under 11 subcategories and 4 major categories including lack of sufficient regulation, organizational processes, individual, inter-individual behavior and media. In case of intervening elements, 15 open codes, 4 subcategories, and 2 major categories were grouped covering religion and economic states. Iranian women have certainly the potential for holding high managerial positions. Therefore, it is of great importance to analyze the factors playing a part in the formation of glass ceiling. If the necessity of the presence of women in management positions is not fully appreciated, all the efforts made to improve the women sports will be in vain.