Jen Pawol will be MLB’s first female umpire. Here are other women who broke officiating barriers

This weekend, Jen Pawol will make history by becoming the first woman to arbitrate a major league baseball match. She is ready to work the series between the brave of Miami Marlins and Atlanta.

New Jersey’s 48 -year -old has worked on spring training matches in the past two years and for minors since 2016.

Here is an overview of other female officials who were the first on the ground, in court or in the field in eminent male leagues.

Shannon Eastin became the first woman responsible for the history of the NFL when she was a judge online in a pre-season match in August 2012 between the Packers of Green Bay and the Charters, who were then in San Diego.

A month later, she became the first woman to be official in a game of the regular season of the NFL when she worked as online judge in the Rams-Lions match. Eastin was one of the replacement officials hired by the League during a lockout of regular officials.

The first woman to find a full season job was Sarah Thomas, who was a judge online in 2015. Thomas also became the first woman to work a super bowl while she was part of the seven people crew on February 7, 2021, when Tom Brady and the Buccaneers of Tampa Bay beat Patrick Mahomes and The Kansas City, 31-9.

Thomas was already the first woman to officer a big university football match – and to work a bowl match.

Violet Palmer and Dee Kantner were hired by the National Basketball Association for the 1997 season. Palmer made his debut at the NBA on October 31, 1997, when she was on the ground for the opening of the season between the Grizzlies of Vancouver and the Dallas Mavericks. Palmer worked that night with Bill Oakes and Mark Wunderlich.

Kantner’s first match took place on November 5, 1997, when Atlanta beat Philadelphia 93-88. Kantner worked alongside Ron Garretson and Ed Middleton. Palmer retired in 2016 and Kantner still officiates basketball of the female NCAA.

The NHL has not yet had an ice manager for a regular season or the Stanley Cup qualifiers.

In the mid -1990s, Heather McDaniel received national attention for the minor league matches for the officiating men for the central hockey league and the hockey league on the west coast. Two decades later, the NHL has selected four women’s managers to work on ice during the 2019 prospect tournaments. Katie Guay and Kelly Cooke were referees, while Kirsten Welsh and Kendall Hanley worked as men of line. He has marked the first time that women have officiated at the tournament of camp prospects before training.

There was a subtle change made before the 2023-24 season when the “line lines” became “line lines”, the women of the American Hockey League who go upwards.

French referee Stéphanie FRAPPART entered history in 2022 by becoming the first woman to be in charge of a match of the male World Cup. The match between Germany in Costa Rica took place in Al Khor, Qatar.

Working the game with FRAPPART were two assistant women – Neuza at the back of Brazil and Karen Diaz Medina from Mexico.

Melanie Davis was the first woman to officer a male tournament match of the NCAA of division I when she was on the field for a first round match between San Diego State and Illinois on March 15, 2002.

Living to the historic part, Davis had officiated male competitions at the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

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