Hi friends,
I want to dive deeper into why co-founding empowHERed with Meghan was personally significant to me. As someone who grew up passionately involved in various sports, I was certain that a career in the sports industry was my calling. Landing a summer internship with ESPN was a dream come true. I knew the sports industry was competitive, but I hadn't fully comprehended just how fierce that competition could be, especially for women like me seeking roles in media. Perhaps it was youthful naivety, but it wasn't until my experiences at ESPN and other professional situations that I realized the intensity of competition among women in the field.
During my ESPN internship, we had the privilege of hearing from various anchors and executives during the Intern Summit. One female anchor in particular addressed all the interns, generously offering her contact information and encouraging the young women in the room to reach out. She spoke passionately about being an advocate for women in sports and highlighted her role as a mentor. At the time, she held what I considered my dream job, so I was eager to connect and learn from her. Imagine my disappointment when I soon discovered that the way some women present themselves, especially when it comes to supporting other women, doesn't always align with reality.
The person I shadowed that day left me feeling disheartened and puzzled. Her territorial nature, even towards young interns and recent graduates, raised many questions. To be honest, I couldn't fully understand it. Shouldn't we, as women, be working together to uplift one another? These thoughts swirled through my mind. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to meet Meghan during that internship, and we were never competitive or jealous of each other. In fact, Meghan and I, along with the other female interns, did nothing but encourage and support one another, so encountering this competitiveness from someone who was supposed to be a "mentor" left us feeling lost. It was a stark contrast to the supportive environment we had created amongst ourselves.
I wish I could say that this was the only time I experienced this behavior among women in the sports industry, but unfortunately, it wasn't. The pattern persisted as I continued my professional career in sports. While working in baseball, I dealt with situations where my female manager intentionally excluded me from meetings, opportunities, and trips, while also engaging in negative conversations behind my back. Those experiences made an already relatively small industry feel even more isolating. On one hand, it's challenging to fault these women because I understand how tough it is to secure a role in sports and advance up the front office ladder. On the other hand, I'll always be an advocate for having more women in the room. Not as competitors, but as supporters, allies, and a united community.
Even today, I can't say I fully comprehend the scarcity mindset and jealousy that women sometimes exhibit toward each other. Meghan and I often express our bewilderment over it. Shouldn't we be striving to uplift each other, to create a supportive environment? Isn't there ample room for all of us to succeed? This sentiment doesn't pertain exclusively to the sports industry; it can be applied to any male-dominated field.
This is the mindset we aim to promote through empowHERed. We want to emphasize that there is more than enough room for all of us at the table. Together, we are stronger, and our focus should be on uplifting one another. I share all of this to emphasize that you're not alone, regardless of your industry. The good news is that as the next generation of women in sports, we can break the cycle. Instead of accepting bad habits and negative behaviors as the norm, let's work together to build an inclusive community of strong, supportive women.
Comments