Sports, with its strong network of volunteer-based clubs, is often highlighted as a possible way of including newcomers in a new society (Spaaij et al., 2019). Participation in sports can, in addition to physical training, create a sense of belonging and an insight into the new society for newcomers (Walseth, 2008). However, studies point out that clubs and leaders generally require more intercultural knowledge and a readiness to understand the different cultural backgrounds of participants (Spaaij et al., 2019). This is in line with other studies (Dowling, 2020; Hertting & Karlefors, 2021; Flensner et al., 2020), that question voluntary sports clubs’ ability to meet culturally diverse participants. Previous research on female immigrants as participants in sport exists (e.g., Painter & Price, 2021). However, more research needs to focus on female leadership (e.g., Dadswell et al.,2022), forming the rationale for the present research project investigating this matter from different perspectives.

In Sweden, almost 70% of children and youth participate in sports clubs. Differences in representation do, however, exist where girls with immigrant backgrounds are the least represented group. This difference is also reflected in leadership, where representation of gender is skewed and even more skewed the higher up in the leadership structure. In general, more men than women are leaders, and the least represented group in leadership is women with immigrant backgrounds (Fundberg, 2017). To promote inclusion in sports and increase gender equality, representation needs to be addressed and prioritized to a greater extent. One way forward is to strengthen and increase diversity in leadership. An increased number of female leaders with immigrant backgrounds have the potential to create leadership role models who appeal to one of the most underrepresented groups of members in sport, that is girls and women with immigrant backgrounds.  

Aim and objectives

By investigating female immigrants’ experiences of their path to participation and leadership in sports, the aim of the study is to explore experiences and turning points that have enabled women with immigrant backgrounds to enter and develop leadership in Swedish sports. 

Theoretical framework

This study is based on the assumptions of so-called turning points; unforeseen events of different character that might influence immigrant women's life and possible career development (Hodkinson & Sparkes, 1997). Turning points can be forced, self-initiated, or structural (Hodkinson & Sparkes, 1997), with the potential to offer immigrant women opportunities to be included in contexts supporting inclusion in sports and a new society. Turnings points might be life events that cannot be predicted. To study the role of career development and turning points in immigrant women’s sports leadership, Hodkinson and Sparkes (1997) model of career paths is used. The model is useful since it is argued to avoid two possible pitfalls: social determinism and considering immigrant women as free agents. The model, thus, considers the tension between individuals' unequal life chances connected with and structured by gender, class, and ethnicity, and assumptions about the individual's free choice in relation to market forces. The model includes three basic concepts: horizons for action, turning points, and routines. The concepts are closely linked to each other and to learning, and when a decision is made within a turning point, the person's habitus is changed (Hodkinson & Sparkes, 1997). 

This study follows a multiple case study design (Yin, 2018), which enables a close examination of women's individual life stories to explore different and specific narratives of turning points and critical life events, as well as potential relationships between the women's life stories. Participants were recruited by using snowball sampling. The selection criteria for participation were made up to be first-generation female immigrants holding a leadership position within the Swedish sports community. Primarily, women who were club- or confederation leaders (boards and similar) were requested. Additional inclusion criteria were experienced forced migration from non-Western European countries (excl. U.S./other Western countries) and to be able to express themselves and to describe their experiences in Swedish. In total, 11 women participated in the interviews. The women shared different backgrounds and experiences of the sports movement. Participants were recruited from all of Sweden, with an age range of 21 to 49 years. Due to recruitment difficulties, flexibility regarding inclusion criteria was needed. For example, some participants were engaged in leadership through their work, rather than non-profit/civic engagement. Data were produced using semi-structured interviews following the life history principle and a biographical survey (Barker-Ruchti, et al., 2015). Biographical mapping is a tool for developing and deepening the interviews and is useful for reconstructing life stories in relation to social, personal, and developmental aspects. Biographical mapping also helps to obtain data that enables the "identification of important life transitions, critical events, and turning points" (Parry et al., 1999, p. 2), thus enabling participants to mark their career path in sports alongside other central life events on the accompanying grid. The visualization of the turning points in terms of importance and time helped to create additional discussion points (Barker-Ruchti, et al., 2015). The data analysis has not yet been conducted but an abductive approach will be used. Depending on insights from the initial phase of the analysis, one or more scientific articles will be produced, based on the study’s overall aim. The analysis will start with identifying how immigrant women entered, participated, and became leaders in sports, reflecting an inductive analytical procedure. In the following phase, Hodkinson and Sparkes’s (1997) theory of career paths will be used to identify critical events and turning points according to the different types (structural, forced, and self-initiated) described in theory (Hodkinson & Sparkes, 1997). Finally, turning points will be analyzed in relation to the aim and specific research questions.

By the time of writing this abstract, data analysis has not been conducted. However, some general patterns can be discerned in the participants’ stories. Just a few participants had an experience of exercising leadership in their home country. Similarly, few expressed a previously held vision or goal of becoming a leader in sports. Coincidence instead seemed to be a reason behind becoming engaged in leadership. Another pattern among the shared life stories is participants’ experiences of people in their vicinity playing an essential role in being where they are today, in life in general, and in reaching their leadership positions. Participants shared stories of specific persons who had shown trust and belief in them. These persons were argued to have infused the participants with confidence and courage, believing that they could do whatever they wanted and with the capacity to reach their goals. Although a supportive environment seems important, individual motivation and goals can also be discerned, with participants’ life stories indicating a high degree of self-motivation. Furthermore, participants shared stories that indicate confidence and purposefulness, making up what appear to be essential characteristics for finding and taking place in a “new” society and culture, reaching a position within sports, and a possible sense of belonging. One’s attitude and approach to the situation, to see opportunities, enabled by individual attributes such as independence, courage, and curiosity, was also described as important for finding a way into and taking place in a new society. A central aim of the analysis is to identify turning points in the participants’ lives, essential for becoming a leader in sports, as well as to reach insight that can promote further recruitment of immigrant women into leadership in sports.

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