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Becca's avatar

This is random and definitely on the silly side...but your 33% initiative encouraged me to email our citywide pub trivia organization to ask them to work toward including women in 33% of their sports questions. My all-women trivia team is always amazed by the random men's coaching and decades-old allstar game questions that the trivia world treats as common knowledge. It's a small thing, but it would be meaningful to me if they assumed that we all knew at least one thing per week about women's achievements in sports.

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Lindsay Gibbs's avatar

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH!!!! And it's not silly at all, every little bit counts.

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Kara's avatar

Love that.

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Carrie Allen's avatar

A note on books, as Lindsay has a Power Plays book club in the works. Most of us are aware that books on women's sports take up a miniscule percentage of the bookshelves, and it's not for lack of material. As you finish reading, review them on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and goodreads. Check your library to see if they carry the book-- if not, you can request that they order it! If the book is appropriate for school-aged readers, gift a copy to the library or a classroom. Gift a copy to a local girls' team. If it's been a few months since the book was released, request a copy for your local bookstore (it may no longer be on the shelf.) Tag the publisher in a tweet (and the author!) to let them know that you enjoyed the book and want to read more like it. Creating a demand not only supports both athletes and women sportswriters, but also guarantees that the material is more widely available and sends a larger message about the marketability of women in sports.

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Lindsay Gibbs's avatar

These are all such great ideas, thank you, Carrie!

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Meg Linehan's avatar

"Figuring out how to create and add more women’s sports GIFs to the twitter GIF library."

This is driven by GIPHY, which anyone can join and upload gifs to as a platform. I think the best free tool to create gifs is GIF Brewery 3, which is a free download as well.

GIPHY https://giphy.com/

GIF Brewery 3 (Mac only, sorry!) https://gfycat.com/gifbrewery

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Elizabeth Emery's avatar

thanks for this

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MW's avatar

Just a note, not sports specific, but grouping nonbinary people with women can also seem like categorizing nonbinary people as “women lite” or “androgynous people I think of as women.” A better term might be marginalized genders, which then includes anyone who isn’t a cis man.

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Lindsay Gibbs's avatar

Thank you for sharing this, I appreciate the feedback so much, and will adjust accordingly!

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Lindsay Gibbs's avatar

Thank you, Sheila! This is so helpful.

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Jackie Randall's avatar

What a great article, Sheila! Thanks for sharing.

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Jaclyn M's avatar

Speaking from the perspective as someone who works for a sports company that primarily covers men's sports, lodging your complaints that there is a lack of coverage of women's sports definitely helps! It's harder for me to advocate for change when there doesn't "seem to be a demand" (coded much?).

Take the minute to point out when a company, organization, media establishment, etc. could do better!

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Lindsay Gibbs's avatar

YES. As my dad always says, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease."

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Pam Goodman's avatar

I really liked Lindsay's article with the Telegraph Sport. I don't remember if it is a public article? I can't tell because I'm a subscriber. But citing this as someone-else-is-doing-it, get-on-the-train-or-be-left-behind I would think would be extra incentive for sports companies.

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Caleb Chladek's avatar

If you look up the article archive on powerplays.news, to the left of the date is a lock. That lock indicates a subscriber-only post. I believe you're referencing the February 21st article, and that one's a free one; there's no lock on it. So far, the two locked articles are the Maya Moore article and the Sky Sports interview article. All other articles posted earlier than March 4th are free articles.

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Lindsay Gibbs's avatar

It is a public article! And I agree -- I think it was very helpful to hear the ways it has been a boost to The Telegraph, and hope other companies will take it to heart!

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Jackie Randall's avatar

Let's focus our efforts on all level of sport- although broad, it is necessary. Much of this newsletter and media is focused on the professional and D1 level of sport when there are so many women grinding away at the lower levels that are much less visable or supported. They are doing great work. Can we resolve to reach out to that female High School coach, that Mom coaching little legaue, that D3 Director of Sports Information following a team all season and give them a pat on the back, a thumbs up, a high five?

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Lindsay's avatar

As a coach of little ones, I will take this as a high five Jackie. Thank you. Because I have young kids, I try to normalize women’s sports for their age group. I just reached out to our daycare because they have the kids fill out a bracket each March and they post it in the hallway where 100 people probably walk past every day. I asked if they would consider filling out a women’s bracket this year and it was an easy yes for them. I’m so excited, if I have time I will print off pictures for them to hang up too.

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Lindsay Gibbs's avatar

Love this, Jackie. Thank you!

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Alissa's avatar

I like to go every season to ask the local sports fan stores if they have any WNBA, NWSL, women's soccer, NCAA women's b-ball fan gear.

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Lindsay Gibbs's avatar

This is so great -- maybe we can have a month where we all go to as many stores as we can in person, and email as many online stores as we can to push for women's sports merch. Going to add this to the official list.

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Sara F's avatar

I think pressure on any fan apparel stores/websites is a great idea. I was just depressing myself by searching the name of one of the best women's soccer players in the world (Viv Miedema) on a huge soccer jersey site and it came up with ZERO. No hits. She's even the face of an Adidas ad for the current Arsenal jersey and you CANNOT buy a shirt with her name on it. Things like this make me endlessly frustrated!

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Pam Goodman's avatar

Was just going to suggest this. The jersey availability for the USWNT was/is horrific. It makes me think USSF is doing this on purpose so they can cite lower sales of product (and not have to pay equally).

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Michelle Redfern's avatar

I unashamedly focus on addressing the leadership gender gap in sport - in australia 90% of CEOs in sport are men. Last Christmas I snailmailed every single CEO of the AFL & NRL football codes a Christmas card and this postcard calling on them to make a public commitment - feel free to use at will! I’m about to start another Twitter campaign too - love y’all to help out!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/yh555r017l8ph43/AWIS%20Commitment.pdf?dl=0

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Lindsay Gibbs's avatar

LOVE THIS. Let's definitely connect!

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Caiti D's avatar

Second on the centralized calendar. I have been working on devising a solution for this but with limited funding, execution has been lacking. Have the contacts, technical know how, and execution plan. If there are those willing to collaborate on budget (or a joint pitch for budget), I would love to connect!

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Lindsay Gibbs's avatar

YESSS, let's talk about this. (Sorry I'm getting to this thread so late, will send you an email.)

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Dana Nathanson's avatar

Would love to be apart of this project!

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Steenhouse's avatar

I'd be willing to invest in this.

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Lisa Laskin's avatar

Would love to see more stories generally about women in sports management - leading teams and leagues from the front office. At the other end of the spectrum, I think a lot about how we get more women to coach youth sports like soccer and hockey (what my daughter plays!). If we have women in positions of authority in youth sports, we have role models for girls AND boys, and we normalize the idea of a woman in charge, critically important for boys in particular. If see it young, they will assume it is the norm later. So, I'd love to see more journalism that can help encourage women to take on those roles. Maybe that is a story about the challenges of balancing volunteerism and parenting, or grassroots sports growth?

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Elyssa Brock's avatar

I love all of this!! Action is the best next step. We can do this if we work together.

"One day a week for a month, we all go to a bar or restaurant and request a women’s sports event on the TV. In bigger cities, we can create Power Plays meet-ups around this."

This is an excellent idea! I'm happy to help out as much as I can. I live in Chicago and I know there are many, many females here looking for places to meetup, talk and watch sports in a bar atmosphere.

If anyone else lives in Chicago let me know and we can get started!

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Jackie Randall's avatar

I live in Chicago! Are you on Twitter? @MsRandallEGHS

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Elyssa Brock's avatar

I don't use Twitter but I have Facebook and Instagram. Might it be easier for us to collaborate via email?

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Jackie Randall's avatar

Yes, absolutley, but I'm unsure if I want to post my email publically.

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Lindsay Gibbs's avatar

Sorry I'm just getting to this thread, but I am happy to facilitate this connection if you both just want to email me at lindsay@powerplays.news.

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Elyssa Brock's avatar

Thanks for offering, but we already exchanged emails :)

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Elyssa Brock's avatar

Excellent point; I just pulled up my very old Twitter account and followed you. Send me a private message when you can.

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Lindsay's avatar

Here for NYC meetups, and am always asking bars to put women’s games on! There’s a Brooklyn-based NWSL watching meetup starting this season that’s already on my radar. https://www.meetup.com/Brooklyn-NWSL-Fans/

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AndersH's avatar

I made a few gifs... a couple of years ago? Time flies from a couple of rugby sevens tournament of that year:

https://andersdruv.tumblr.com/post/176344836593/the-womens-rugby-sevens-world-cup-2018-was-very

https://andersdruv.tumblr.com/post/175138105923/since-its-the-mens-football-world-cup-right-now

Good thinking above to actually upload them to giphy, where they are more likely to be shown to more people!

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xoWOSO's avatar

I've been raging nonstop about the USSF filings against the USWNT equal pay lawsuit. I want to burn USSF to the ground and also support the case/players of the USWNT. The USWNT are contractually bound to not strike, but can we boycott? Who would the boycott harm? What does the Player's Association want from the public?

Could we use connections within the feminist and equal pay communities to provide direct links on how to support the NWSL (merch & tickets) and lower level soccer teams instead of US Soccer? I'm talking about a massive "this is how you do it" campaign for the foundations of women's sports - our local communities and professional leagues.

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Pam Goodman's avatar

I hear you. And, I'm the kind of person who will boycott almost anything. The problem with boycotting is that ticket sales, ad revenue, etc, will decrease, which will only support USSF's claims. Literally, damned if we do and damned if we don't.

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xoWOSO's avatar

Agree! I have been contacting the sponsors in the hope that we get some response from them. Happy to see Coca-Cola making a statement!

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Pam Goodman's avatar

I didn't think about contacting sponsors directly. That's brilliant. Backline Soccer just came out with an article suggesting the same...contact the sponsors. https://www.backlinesoccer.com/post/is-it-time-to-boycott-u-s-soccer

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Hanne Emilie's avatar

Re Wikipedia, I think there is already a project there called "women in red" (because an article that isn't written yet shows up as red) which aims to rectify the gender balance. I think allying with them could be a good idea, especially as the Wikipedia community can be hostile to newcomers seen as "trying to push a point of view".

Also citing sources will help. Link to news coverage from the time they were active, and have a flick through Google Scholar to see if they were mentioned there.

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Kara's avatar

Yep, Women in Red is an ongoing wikiproject to add more women's bios and to add depth to thin ones. And GET THIS! This year Women in Red has a special focus on women & sports!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Women_in_Red/Meetup/151

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Lindsay Gibbs's avatar

THIS IS AMAZING. Am going to reach out to them to see how we can help. Thank you all!!

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Elizabeth Emery's avatar

It wasn't me who suggested a wiki editing session but I've been thinking of it as well so would be delighted to be involved also.

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Kara's avatar

And the time of social distancing is a good time for a virtual edit-a-thon that would allow all of the Power Plays community to join :)

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Kara's avatar

Lindsay, Have you connected with the folks at Wikimedia DC at all? They organize Wikipedia edit-a-thons across topics all around the DMV. They usually do it in conjunction with institutions or conferences. I attended one that focused on women in science a year or two ago and would be interested to help organize one on women's sports. Edit-a-thons can be done virtually, too. The BBC did a global one in 2016.

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-38243211/page/4

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Pam Goodman's avatar

With the covid-19 virus spreading, I think we should brainstorm and plan-foro but put a hold on the public meetings. My work (Seattle) is in a mandated remote-work policy until the end of March, but it's likely going to continue beyond March. I think there's enough work to do with the other ideas to keep us busy.

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Amanda's avatar

Getting inspired by the the suggestions/experiences here, I will try for a more-regular cadence to my questions and complaints to stores, broadcasters, etc. (I have a TON of fun filling out, "Thanks for your loyalty, we'd love to hear from you!" surveys. Like Jaclyn I work at a place that puts a lot of weight on metrics around customer feedback and retention, so I get the importance of being vocal.)

The thing I already always do and that took very little time to turn from a conscious effort into a habit into a pattern is that anytime someone at work or out socially mentions men's/boy's sports (and it's frequently me!) I follow up with a relevant comment that includes women's/girl's sports.

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Kara's avatar

During the 2018 men's world cup I was working at an international education office, and the games were put on the TVs in the welcome area and the conference room all day. I got our director to promise that we would do the same thing in a year for the women's world cup, and I held him to that commitment, which he did gladly, but I don't know if it would've happened otherwise :)

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Lindsay's avatar

Great thread, all! So there’s lots of us that think about this stuff eh? A few things.

1- when key reports come out from places like the Women’s sports foundation, or Tucker Institute, I have been meaning to at some point make copies of the fact sheets and forward to key people in my local schools district like relevant board person, superintendent, athletic directors. We can’t assume these folks have their eyes open to issues relevant to the progress of women’s sports.

2- I have emailed numerous companies calling for more. More articles, merch, games etc. Does it ever make a difference? I hope so.

3- I would like to brainstorm ways the NHL team I cheer for could support women’s hockey and write them a letter.

4- I try to be a visible fan to normalize women’s sports fandom. I wear merch, post schedules on my cube at work, tell people I’m a fan etc. I think this is part of the battle, just normalizing fandom, embracing it in everything we do.

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Carrie Allen's avatar

Hi Lindsay! Does your local NHL team have a female ambassador yet? I was surprised to recently hear that this new program hasn't been implemented across the entire league. You could start a campaign to inundate their front office with requests to hire one if they haven't already!

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Lindsay's avatar

Thanks Carrie. As far as I know the Blue Jackets don’t have an ambassador. Thanks for the reminder, that is definitely an item to mention

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Panda's avatar

Go to women's sporting events at any level. You might not have a local pro team, but you probably have college or high school teams that need support. I'm a Thorns season ticket holder and also go to local PSU basketball games (2019 Big Sky conference champs!). The PSU games are $10 or less per ticket and they often sell blocks at a discount a few times a year. And there are never many people in attendance. It's easy to get on the mailing list for college teams. Follow them on social media too!

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Joyce Bassett's avatar

I worked in print newsrooms for 35 years and the past 3 years in web production of a mid-size daily media company. Calls to the sports editor with a cc to the sports editor's boss (usually the editor or associate editor) can make a difference. Same goes for the web team. Support local journalism by subscribing and being an active subscriber by letting editors know what you want to read. The old greasy wheel ... it takes one phone call or email. In January I started writing a column on women and girls in sports and even without games being played there are so many stories to tell. At the end of each column I compile bullet items on ways to support women and girls in sports under the #womenworthwatching hashtag

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Kara's avatar

This one's obvious, but I invite friends who aren't already women's sports fans to attend or watch games with me. Partly it's necessity since I don't have many friends who are already fans, but partly it's for the purpose of growing the supporters base.

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