Women's Sports Foundation

We’re teaming up with DraftKings Inc. to celebrate all the incredible women athletes competing at the Olympics! Now through August 2nd, enter the DraftKings Free to Play WSF Olympics Pool and for every entry, DraftKings will donate $5 to WSF, up to $50,000! Visit draftkings.com/wsf to get in on the Olympics action and support our commitment to equity for women in sports and life! #Paris2024

With the first ever gender equal Olympics underway, check out this opinion article in USA TODAY written by our WSF CEO Danette Leighton and WSF President Scout Bassett explaining how #TitleIX helped us reach this significant milestone and where inequities still persist. #Paris2024 https://lnkd.in/giMFZfVV

With 15 weeks to go until the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon, WSF is excited to introduce you to another group of our incredible runners! 👟 💪 Hudson Van Slooten, Lauren Brandt, and Marisa Van Sickle are running to support WSF’s work – a cause that is close to their hearts. 💖 Representing the East and West coasts, Hudson, Lauren and Marisa are looking forward to hitting the pavement this November in NYC and inspiring the next generation of marathon runners! We hope you’ll consider helping our runners go the extra mile and make a lasting impact on girls and women in sports by donating today. Learn more about Marisa, Lauren, and Hudson’s stories and support their fundraising campaigns: https://lnkd.in/gKqUEAaN #NYCMarathon #KeepRunning #NYRR #TCSNYCMarathon #WSF50 #running #marathon #NYC

WSF’s Sports 4 Life program is celebrating its 10th anniversary! This national initiative – co-founded by ESPN in 2014 and supported by Gatorade – utilizes the power of sport to build a solid foundation for Black, African-American, Hispanic and Native American girls to thrive on and off the field of play. We are proud to mark the program’s 10-year milestone by distributing a historic $500,000 via $10,000 grants to 50 organizations across the country. This is the largest funding and grant class to date and was made possible thanks to a special donation from WNBA legend Sue Bird in partnership with CarMax, as well as other contributions from supporters. Meet the grantees and learn more about Sports 4 Life: https://lnkd.in/gSb9i5vg #KeepPlaying #Sports4Life #WSF50 #PlaytoLead

#TakeActionTuesday: The world’s BIGGEST sporting event is almost here! As the 2024 Paris Olympic Games begin this Friday, we celebrate all the progress made to accomplish a diverse and gender equitable event. Some notable achievements include:    - For the first time in the Games’ history, the IOC is projecting there will be an equal percentage of women and men competing at the Olympics.  - WSF 2021 Sportswoman of the Year, Allyson Felix has teamed up with Pampers to provide a nursery for athlete moms in the Olympic Village.  - For the second consecutive Olympic Games, the number of openly LGBTQ+ athletes are in the triple digits.    As we celebrate these achievements and the continued push toward equity, it is important to acknowledge that there is still much work to be done. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, women athletes had less opportunities to compete with 46 events, while men had 51 events. Despite projected gender parity in athlete representation this year, women remain underrepresented as Olympic coaches. At the Tokyo Games, only 13% of all coaches were women; and as for the U.S. roster, the percentage was only slightly higher at 21.1%.    While the progress made is promising and shows that an inclusive future is possible, to truly achieve gender equity in sports and beyond, we must address these disparities and continue to advocate for change. #TheEquityProject    Your Turn:  1. Read our research report “Chasing Equity: The Triumphs, Challenges and Opportunities in Sports for Girls and Women” at the link in our bio to learn about the current sports landscape experienced by the girls and women competing in the Olympics and beyond. https://lnkd.in/g5H4v33p 2. Consider coaching a local youth league in your area! Check out our We Play Interactive guide on our website to learn how to create an environment where all girls can thrive. https://lnkd.in/eNrPsvrU 3. Cheer on all the incredible athletes competing in the upcoming weeks by hosting a #ParisOlympics watch party with your friends and family!

#TeamWSF is making every step count as they prepare for the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon! 🏃♀️🏃♂️ Runners Malea Lunt, Rachel Sun, and Taylor Wade are spending their summer beating the heat and crushing their training. Their miles of determination exemplify the passion they share for our work 💙 We are so excited to cheer them on as they represent WSF from Utah, Illinois, and North Carolina, impacting girls and women everywhere! Join Malea, Rachel, and Taylor in this journey as they train for 26.2 miles this November! You can learn more about Team WSF and support their efforts by visiting here: https://lnkd.in/gKqUEAaN Every contribution counts! #NYCMarathon #TCSNYCMarathon #NYRR #KeepRunning #Marathon

Last week, WSF hosted an Athlete Ambassador Program (AAP) event in partnership with National Partner Delta Air Lines in Los Angeles. The Olympics-themed event invited girls from several local youth sports organizations to join us for a variety of basketball skills and drills led by the Los Angeles Sparks. 🏀🌟 Additionally, the event featured a star-studded panel conversation moderated by WSF Athlete Ambassador Toni Breidinger, featuring WSF Athlete Ambassadors Diana Flores, Angel mccoughtry and the Sparks’ very own Dearica Hamby who will be competing on Team USA’s women’s 3x3 basketball team at the 2024 #ParisOlympics. The event highlighted Delta’s and WSF’s commitment to supporting girls’ sports and youth development. 💪 Talk about a great day! Thank you to everyone who came and joined us. #KeepPlaying #KeepServing #Paris2024

I’m proud to share that Bread Financial has donated $1 million to the Women's Sports Foundation (WSF) to support its mission to enable all girls and women to reach their potential in sports and in life.      This contribution will help fuel the Foundation’s long-term strategic growth and build fundraising capacity and national awareness through a variety of events and advocacy.      As a father of two women athletes and a WSF board member, I’m honored to lead a company like Bread Financial that advocates for gender equity on and off the field. #WSF50 

#TakeActionTuesday: It’s #DisabilityPrideMonth, a time to honor the history, achievements and challenges faced by the disability community. 2X Paralympic snowboard gold medalist and WSF Travel & Training Fund grant recipient Brenna Huckaby PLY lost her leg to cancer at the age of 14 but that didn’t deter her from participating in the sport she loves. “Disability Pride Month to me, is a reminder of the incredible strength that comes from self-acceptance.” said Huckaby in a recent post to her Instagram. Her journey from a young girl navigating hardships on and off the slopes, to a world-class snowboarder, highlights the need for inclusive sports and recreational physical activity opportunities for young athletes with disabilities. Our recently-published Thriving Through Sport report highlights that girls with disabilities who are active in sports experience lower levels of depression and anxiety, along with higher levels of peer relationships, meaning, and purpose compared to their peers who do not play sports. These findings emphasize the importance of inclusive sports programs for girls, so we can see more athletes like Brenna reach their full athletic potential and #KeepPlaying. #TheEquityProject Your Turn: 1. Check out our latest research report ‘Thriving Through Sport’ at the link in our bio, which shows that sports provide a boost to mental health for all girls from all backgrounds across race, family income, parent education, sexual identity, and disability status. https://lnkd.in/eweX7zNg 2. Celebrate Disability Pride Month by supporting athletes with disabilities, listening to their stories and amplifying their voices. 3. Research local inclusive sports programs in your area and advocate for more opportunities for athletes with disabilities within your community.

As Dawn Staley accepted her award at the #ESPYS, she addressed a systemic issue about pay equity: "How do I not fight pay disparity when I do the same job and get paid less, but win more?” According to WSF research report "Chasing Equity: The Triumphs, Challenges, and Opportunities in Sports for Girls and Women", 60% of female leaders reported being paid less for doing the same job as a man. We think it's about time that changed. Join us; sign The Equity Project Pledge today! https://lnkd.in/eQZaxaS https://lnkd.in/grTWUeXz