DC Life Magazine’s Post

Following last Thursday's post about Dove's Self-Esteem program for children and their Super Bowl commercial stating that 45% of girls quit sports by age 14 because of body image issues, I want to post a win for this incident that brings attention to the disparity of "acceptable clothing" for women versus men in team sports. In case you missed it, in the 2020 Olympics, the Norwegian Beach Handball team was fined for not wearing the regulation uniform for women. They wanted to wear shorts instead of required bikini bottoms in their match. This article in Women's Health Australia states: "While male players can wear shorts, rules state that 'female athletes must wear bikini bottoms' and that these must have a 'close fit,' be 'cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg,' and a side depth of no more than 10 centimetres." The singer Pink agreed to pay their fine of 1500 euros, encouraging the women to stand their ground. The move drew support from Billie Jean King who tweeted, "The sexualization of female athletes must stop." You can read more about both cases in this article: https://buff.ly/49WpxBO In the same Olympics, German women's gymnastic team broke convention by wearing a unitard instead of the usual high-cut suits. It's hard to believe this issue needs to be faught in the 2020's. However, the response is positive, with officials vowing to change the rules to permit women to wear what makes them feel comfortable and secure. The ABC News article states: "That objectification has translated to the production of women's sports, said Bissell, who has done research across multiple Olympics on how female beach volleyball athletes are covered differently than their male counterparts. "With the female athletes, you would see just overt zooming in on body parts," Bissell said. "It's the same sport, so why are we covering it differently?" Another win for women finding their voices, speaking their truth, and leveling the playing field for those who wish to follow their dreams and live their purpose --- in sports or in any area of living! It's a discrepancy that hasn't gone unnoticed by Tokyo 2020 officials. This week, the head of broadcasting at the Tokyo Games said that coverage like close-ups on body parts will be a thing of the past, under the mantra, "Sport appeal, not sex appeal," The Associated Press reported.

Following last Thursday's post about Dove's Self-Esteem program for children and their Super Bowl commercial stating that 45% of girls quit sports by age 14 because of body image issues, I want to post a win for this incident that brings attention to the disparity of "acceptable clothing" for women versus men in team sports. In case you missed it, in the 2020 Olympics, the Norwegian Beach Handball team was fined for not wearing the regulation uniform for women. They wanted to wear shorts instead of required bikini bottoms in their match. This article in Women's Health Australia states: "While male players can wear shorts, rules state that 'female athletes must wear bikini bottoms' and that these must have a 'close fit,' be 'cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg,' and a side depth of no more than 10 centimetres." The singer Pink agreed to pay their fine of 1500 euros, encouraging the women to stand their ground. The move drew support from Billie Jean King who tweeted, "The sexualization of female athletes must stop." https://lnkd.in/diT9273J In the same Olympics, German women's gymnastic team broke convention by wearing a unitard instead of the usual high-cut suits. You can read more about both cases in this article: https://lnkd.in/er9zfCU7 It's hard to believe this issue needs to be faught in the 2020's. However, the response is positive, with officials vowing to change the rules to permit women to wear what makes them feel comfortable and secure. The ABC News article states: "That objectification has translated to the production of women's sports, said Bissell, who has done research across multiple Olympics on how female beach volleyball athletes are covered differently than their male counterparts. "With the female athletes, you would see just overt zooming in on body parts," Bissell said. "It's the same sport, so why are we covering it differently?" Another win for women finding their voices, speaking their truth, and leveling the playing field for those who wish to follow their dreams and live their purpose --- in sports or in any area of living! It's a discrepancy that hasn't gone unnoticed by Tokyo 2020 officials. This week, the head of broadcasting at the Tokyo Games said that coverage like close-ups on body parts will be a thing of the past, under the mantra, "Sport appeal, not sex appeal," The Associated Press reported.

One of the best elements of the Paris 2024 Paralympics was the Ottobock #unofficialdiscipline campaign. The campaign highlighted a key social focus of the Paralympics - for individuals to reach their human potential, we must move beyond accommodation and into true inclusivity. There are one billion disabled people in the world that are waiting to find and live their talents. But that journey? It starts with stairs. Most people don’t think twice about stairs. But for those of us with disabilities (I include myself as I have a neurological condition #charcotmarietooth) scenes like this - endless stairs - can make every day a challenge. Inclusion starts when you leave home. “In my daily routine, I have to think about everything.” Yes! This! I have to consider everything. How I get from A to B. Uneven surfaces. Stairs. Footwear. Fatigue. (Those stairs in the picture are at the metro stop to get to one of my doctor appointments.) To move toward a truly inclusive society, we must consider every element of life and what can be done to ease the frictions - and in doing so, we can truly enable all people to live their best lives. For a link to the Ottobock campaign, in case you missed it, click through to the comments. I highly recommend watching it. #leadership #inclusivity #dei #humanpotential

Did you know that uniforms were once quite controversial in sports? In the early 20th century, tennis players had to wear full-length trousers and long-sleeved shirts, even in scorching summer temperatures! This sparked heated debates until players like René Lacoste introduced the iconic tennis polo shirt in the 1920s, which completely changed sports attire forever. Today, sports uniforms are not only about performance but also about comfort and style, enabling athletes to perform at their best while looking their finest on the court or field. Whether it's Wimbledon or the World Cup, uniforms continue to evolve, seamlessly blending tradition with modern trends in sports fashion. #Uniforms #UniformSupplier #WorkWear #GoldCoastBusiness #GoldCoast #UniformFunFact #HistoryInStyle

22 Women (of 997 athletes) competed in #olympics for the first time in 1900 Games in Paris. Today women athletes are representing 50% of the athletes. This is great 💥💥 Let’s see how many female athletes will take part in #paralympics #womeninsport #paris2024 #empowering #equal #summergames #femaleathletes #femaleparaathletes #pathtosuccess

Today is International Women's Day, my thoughts are wide-ranging. But today I dedicate myself to the sport. #Sport is important to me, if you start once you can't let go. No matter what sport in the world (international) we are talking about. If we compare women's sport to men's sport, far too little is promoted. #womensports #teamsports #sponsorship #womenempowerment #womensday2024

This Triathlon Ireland webinar taking place tomorrow night might be of interest to some of you here. Details in the link below ⬇️

Having been in consumer insights for a long time, I can tell you that 99% of celebrity endorsements or celebrity collaborations are to put it mildly, not "thought through". They are done under some random diktat or to satisfy someone's egoistic idea of brand building On top of it, most brand managers don't even undertake a basic consumer study to understand the "brand -celebrity fit" or the " benefits to the brand" before splurging on celebrity endorsements/associations. They are afraid of doing even a "pre-post" lest they are asked some tough questions, and everyone plays ball :) In that context, Dove with its pivot towards " Real Women Real Beauty" (basically accepting the fact that hardly anyone looks like the models in Dove's ads ) might have hit a home run with this. Venus Williams is a great example of "Real Women Real Beauty" For more info : https://lnkd.in/g7g46sqf The above link shows a lot of research has gone into this, which is expected from a cosumer giant PS: The US has many iconic colored female athletes of global repute (Think Serena, Simon Biles et al) who could have been contenders but research would have zeroed on Venus plus the commercial/legal considerations. Some one has actually "thought through" before splurging millions #celebrity #endorsements #brand #sportsmarketing #bodyconfidence #dove #marketingroi #insights

🚀 **Team USA is Making History at the 2024 Olympics!** Did you know 592 athletes are representing the USA in the 2024 Olympics? 🏅 What's even more exciting? Women are leading the charge, with 314 athletes (53%) compared to 278 men (47%). Let's celebrate this milestone and cheer on our incredible athletes! Who are you most excited to see compete? Drop your thoughts below! 👇 #2024Olympics #TeamUSA #ParisFranceOlympics #ParisOlympics

As a recruiter, I am truly inspired by this for the next generation. Women need guidance in how to advocate properly for one another. This represents the first step and that is to put aside competition. I recently was assisting a personal acquaintance of mine with gathering appropriate references for a new job she really wanted. It is a highly competitive role in a competitive industry. She is a strong candidate with an excellent work history of accomplishments. She had received 4 reference letters for this job: 2 from women and the other 2 from young men - peers or one level up to her in her previous role. Three of these references (both of the men and one woman) were from the same role she had held in the past which was a leadership role - mid level. The letters from the men focused on her supervisory/mentoring abilities; successes with clients to include handling escalations and complex problem solving and noted her ability to bring in new clients before it was even part of her role. The first female (from the same firm) focused on her "customer service," "attention to detail" and "reliability." Same role, same firm. To my point...the second female to write a recommendation had not worked with this candidate but they have collaborated on several industry related projects - they network. The reference is a CEO, high achiever. Her recommendation for the candidate focused on the successes of their collaborations together, her "innovative ideas" and "fresh perspectives" were noted, as well as her business development approach to build more business while providing stellar service. As females at any level, we should be able to rely on each other to speak up about our own skills and not tone them down...and do the same for each other.