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Media coverage of female athletes and female sports as well as coverage of female officials is what many refer to as “gender-bland sexism.”  That is when sports commentators minimize the accomplishments of female officials and female athletes and convey a bland or neutral tone about the wins and accomplishments.  If the female official or female athlete isn’t sexualized, then the media will talk typically about the female athletes in a boring and bland way.  The term “gender-bland sexism” is a term that Dr. Cheryl Cooky and her fellow researchers at Purdue University developed after a 30 year study of how...

Women’s Officials:  The Future of Women as Referees As women referees already know there is a nationwide shortage of referees for high school and youth sports.  The shortage of women referees is requiring cancellation of games in all sports and across the country. A 2017 survey from the National Association of Sports Officials asked its membership who is causing the biggest problem in sportsmanship.  Parents topped the list at 40% and coaches followed at 30%.  In addition another survey indicates that adult behavior is the reason more than 75% of all high school referees quit.  The same report states that...

Being a woman’s referee (www.Officiastore.com) means that an off field/off court active lifestyle is a must. The benefits of an active lifestyle goes beyond waking up the day after a grueling game without any significant aches and pains. The physical and emotional benefit provide you with calorie burning (your calorie burning amount depends on your level of fitness and other considerations but you can easily burn 300-600 calories per game). Stress buster is another benefit of a healthy women’s referee lifestyle as well as mental sharpness. As a woman referee you’re expected to make split second decisions and being physically...

From our vantage point as the only USA manufacturers of Women Officials Wear, we are taking notice of the advancement of women in this arena. We are so proud of the growth women continue to make in the world of officiating. So many referees and umpires have worked diligently every game assigned to open doors for fellow women.  A couple of key notes on past accomplishments. In 1904, Amanda Clement was the first woman to get paid to umpire a baseball game. 
 A mere 68 years later in 1972, Bernice Gera followed as the first woman to 
umpire a...