The MiDOViA Menopause Podcast

Episode 026: Empowering Women in Sports Leadership

• April Haberman and Kim Hart • Season 1 • Episode 26

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What if women led the sports world? Find out in our inspiring conversation with Jenn Nelson, the dynamic founder and CEO of We Belong Everywhere. Jenn takes us through her incredible journey from youth sports coach to fearless advocate for women's representation in sports leadership. We discuss the powerful mission behind her nonprofit organization and the critical need for women in decision-making roles to reshape the sports industry. Jenn shares personal insights into the barriers women face, like unconscious bias and the lack of mentorship, while painting a vivid picture of her vision for greater gender equity in sports leadership.

Ever wondered how menstrual and menopausal health impacts athletic performance? Jenn helps us uncover the often-ignored aspects of women's health in sports. We dive into the innovative programs designed to empower young girls and women by addressing societal biases and championing their well-being. The conversation highlights the need for better data and research specific to women in sports, as well as how sports organizations can step up to support female athletes and leaders. By investing in women's health, we pave the way for optimal performance and leadership in sports.

Lastly, we shine a spotlight on the power of advocacy and the inspirational leadership of trailblazers like Michelle Kang, owner of the Washington Spirit. Jenn talks about the monumental efforts and investments made to support elite female athletes, emphasizing the importance of understanding women's unique needs for peak performance. Learn how you can support We Belong Everywhere's mission to create equal opportunities in sports leadership and hear Jen's reflections on passion, persistence, and personal power. Plus, enjoy a fun rapid-fire segment where Jenn shares some lighthearted personal tidbits. Tune in and get inspired to champion women's empowerment in sports!

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 https://www.webelongeverywhere.org

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MiDOViA is dedicated to changing the narrative about menopause by educating, raising awareness & supporting women in this stage of life, both at home and in the workplace. Visit midovia.com to learn more.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Medovia Menopause Podcast, your trusted source for evidence-based, science-backed information related to menopause. Medovia is dedicated to changing the narrative about menopause by educating, raising awareness and supporting women in this stage of life, both at home and in the workplace. Visit Medoviacom to learn more. I'm one of your hosts, april Haberman, and I'm joined by Kim Hart. We're co-founders of Medovia, certified health coaches, registered yoga teachers and midlife mamas specializing in menopause. You're listening to another episode of our podcast, where we offer expert guidance for the most transformative stage of life, bringing you real conversations, education and resources to help you overcome challenges and reach your full potential through midlife. Join us and our special guests each episode as we bring vibrant, fun and truthful conversation and let us help you have a deeper understanding of menopause. Hi everyone.

Speaker 1:

Today on the show we have Jen Nelson. Jen is the founder and CEO of we Belong Everywhere, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering women in sports leadership. As a contributor to Forbescom and Sports Money, she provides insightful analysis on the latest trends in the sports industry. Jen is also the author of Women's Sports Update newsletter, where she highlights key developments in women's sports, advocating for greater visibility and equity. We love that In this episode, we explored an important and yet overlooked topic in both the workplace and equity. We love that In this episode, we explored an important and yet overlooked topic in both the workplace and sports. We've talked about this before the impact of menstruation and menopause but in this episode on women in sports, jen shared her inspiration for starting we Belong Everywhere and how the organization is breaking down barriers that women face in reaching leadership roles within the sports industry. This is such an interesting episode.

Speaker 1:

Let's dive in. Hi Jen, welcome to the show, hi April. Thank you. Yeah, we're excited to have you today. This is a topic that we have not talked about on the show before and it's a really important topic, so thank you for being here. I'm excited to talk about women's sports. Just before we came on to record, we were just saying what an important time in women's sports and we're going to unpack what you do and why you do it, and that might actually be a great place to start is to dive right in and have you tell us why you started. We Belong Everywhere. What? Where did that come from?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I mean that's. That's a great question. I appreciate you asking and it's kind of a loaded question for me. It's very personal and you know I can share a bit about my background in sports. So I actually I've coached youth sports at the club soccer level for a cumulative about 10 years and I grew up, you know, as an athlete in various sports soccer, track, softball, basketball so sports has always been an integral part of my life, as far as you know, just developing a lot of the tools and the different aspects of my life that have helped me really push forward and gain success and traction in a whole bunch of different areas, from personal to professional.

Speaker 2:

But the founding of we Belong Everywhere really, I think originates with the title of what it is. We belong in this space, we belong everywhere. You know, in my opinion, I think it's important that women are a part of the decision making process, a part of an active representative group of sports. And you know it's important that we push and advocate for women in leadership roles to be the decision makers, to be a part of that group of people that are fundamentally, fundamentally shaping sports, not just in women's sports but in sports in general. But you know. Going back to my coaching side of things, you know I've seen firsthand just the impact that having women in roles that are, you know, you know, fundamental for for young kids and for youth, um, you know, as far as their, you know their development and and their understanding of what leadership is um, and and being in head coaching roles, um, it's, it was a tremendous privilege to be able to, um, you know, to speak to that and to be an example of what it means to be a leader to young girls and young boys, and I think it fundamentally makes a difference in their lives to have that representation and to be able to see that, you know, they can be in those places.

Speaker 2:

As far as girls in sports and girls growing up to understand what leadership is and how they can be a part of that. And, on the same end, with boys, I actually I'm a mom of three boys and it's important to me that they understand and see that who I am as a woman makes no difference between, if you know, their dad or me um in in a leadership role that we, we both, have an impact and a say and we're a part of the decision process. So transferring that into sports. Um, you know that, that fundamental, um point of you know we belong in these spaces just as much as anyone else. I think that's really the kickstart. You know the kick for why I started. We Belong Everywhere.

Speaker 1:

It's so good, and you know we've had conversations prior to this podcast you and I, jen just about the fact that you know girls younger girls may not think about women in leadership roles in sports, it might not be top of mind, and so having those role models is really important. Can you share with our audience just kind of a side note how many women are in leadership roles in your industry? What does that percentage look like now and what's your desire? Where would you like to see it?

Speaker 2:

That's a really great question. You know, diving into the research, it's really not that different from what you would see in the corporate world or broader society. You know women in leadership roles in sports. You know they face some of the similar barriers, such as unconscious bias, a shortage of mentorship and sponsorships. Women are steered into very specific roles and what we see as far as the numbers is. You know that data actually is something that does need to be expanded upon.

Speaker 2:

But what I have seen, you know when you look at the women in college coaching report card from the NCAA institution, the Tucker Center for Research of Girls and Women in Sport, they do amazing work as far as report cards on women in leadership within the women's sports side of NCAA D1. And what we see there as far as just head coaching positions, we see about 47.4% of head coaching positions in the women's side of NCAA. I mean that's about the number that's so it's still less than half, even on the women's side for just head coaching roles. It's even worse for women of color in those particular positions where only 7% of women of color lead NCAA women's teams, and you don't even want to talk about the men's side of things where only 1%. As a whole, you'll see women in head coaching roles and that's across all NCAA divisions one, two and three.

Speaker 2:

So just looking at that sector alone, you can see that there's a ton of work that needs to be done as far as empowering and bringing women up into these leadership roles, and obviously that stems from a lot of different points, from recruitment to hiring practices to, you know, really looking at the gender and biases and stereotypes that women deal with in leadership. But, believe it or not, there's a ton of work that needs to be done as far as gathering more data and research on women in sports, across pro sports, across, you know, the university level, and especially in youth. It's difficult to find the numbers on, you know, youth sports in general, on where women stand as far as leadership goes. But yeah, so there's, there's definitely a lot of work to do there.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and so why don't you share with our audience what specifically what we Belong Everywhere does to help address some of those barriers? What's your organization's sort of goals and objectives to help change the landscape?

Speaker 2:

Yeah. So we really want to focus on three specific programs. So we have a program that's directed towards our youth, called the Youth Discovery Program. We have a career path and leadership program that provides women with access to networking events, leadership workshops, internships, study abroad programs, any opportunities that can give them a leg up in that pipeline towards leadership. And then there's a third program that I'm actually super excited about which we'll be launching We'll be launching all three of these programs within Q1 of next year but a data and research program.

Speaker 2:

So we really plan to collect data from sports organizations to identify challenges in recruiting and career progression and professional development for women in coaching, management, executive roles, even board roles. So we really wanna have a data-driven approach towards our advocacy and program development, and that's something that we're really excited about because obviously data doesn't lie. So gathering that data and being able to say hey, across these particular organizations this is what we see how can we help you improve or how can we help women improve is going to be fundamental to what we're doing. But expanding a bit more on the other programs that we have, youth Discovery Program really focuses on empowering, you know, young girls, in particular through tailored mentorship events, collaborations with local sports clubs and schools.

Speaker 2:

So the whole purpose of engaging with our youth is really to hit on the societal issues of stereotypes and biases. If we're going to empower and essentially change those biases and stereotypes, well, we have to talk to our youth and we have to engage with them and show them through example and share leadership with them so that they can see that those pathways are available to them. They are very much, you know, empowered to be in those particular areas, so that's very important to us. And then, you know, empowered to be in those particular areas, so that's very important to us. And then, you know, we've got engaging with women who are currently looking for expansion into sports leadership. So we want to really connect with them and create a community among them to help them on their career path towards leadership them to help them on their career path towards leadership.

Speaker 1:

Yeah Well, I love your work with the youth. Kim and I both have kids they're young adults now but I know Kim and I both were involved in some way or the other in their sports careers. I guess you could call it, yeah, careers Before college, yeah, but it's super important and we all have a passion for youth. Obviously, kim and I are in the menopause space and we work with midlife women, really mostly with women that are 30 plus years old, and you just mentioned that, your third program that you have in place, that your third program that you have in place and I'm wondering, as we're talking about barriers, barriers to entry right and barriers to those leadership roles, do you see or do we know, coming back to this lack of data piece, whether or not menopause and menstruation is one of those barriers.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I would. I mean, like you said, the data needs. We need to improve on data, but there's I mean there's a massive discrepancy in health related research on women in sports, and that is, you know, that includes athletes and that also includes, you know, your leadership or your administration, people working within the sports industry. If you're a woman, you're going to, you're going to have, you know, we're, we're all working through our reproductive cycle from, you know, day one. So there's there's definitely discrepancies there with research and and it's been shown through through history, you know we've a lot of what we've seen, as you know, men's health data, health and wellness data, being transferred over to women and it just not matching up, and that's something that really needs to be dealt with. There's definite, definite consequences in the way that that data is being analyzed and there are specific challenges that athletes are dealing with, their specific challenges. That athletes are dealing with their specific challenges that you know women later on in life are dealing with, and I do think that you know all of that needs to be, it needs to be discussed and it needs to be worked through If we on the athlete side of things, if we want to see better performance, then we need to talk about menstruation. We need to talk about the physical discomfort that women deal with irregular cycles, increased risk of injury through hormonal fluctuations, which even non-athletes deal with, and it's difficult. And then, you know, going into menopause, the hormonal changes and the mental health issues that come with it. And we're looking at women in leadership and how are we supporting them and what are we doing to make sure that they understand these things? I think there's a ton of way that sports organizations can really support that, obviously through what Medovia is doing with education and resources, injury prevention programs for athletes.

Speaker 2:

There's some really interesting research that recently came out as far as women's hormonal balances, I believe with the menstrual cycle. So there was a study done. It's called the Menstrual Cycle in Sports Injuries, a systemic review, and it actually talked about how the presence of female athletes or, excuse me, the hormonal changes and cycles within female athletes, how there's there's injury risks at certain points of the cycle, and you know, when you're talking about athletes and athletic performance and and and supporting women athletes, that's that's. You know, we we got to take a look at that and really help them and support them through education and resources? And, and what about the transition forward into menopause? And how are we um educating our athletes um into that phase? How are we educating our leadership into that? Um, so, yeah, I, I it's. It's a very interesting subject and it's something that I find very fascinating, particularly in sports.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and how do you influence those organizations and educate those women in the sports space? Because I know there's been a lot of and I appreciate you bringing in you know, real data, because you know sometimes you can talk about those things but without having to back it up with some real statistics. But there's a lot of information coming out on what you should eat during various phases of your cycle and, of course, we talk about what you should eat during menopause. So I'm sure when you talk about the cycles that you're that you're referring to for women and when they're more prone to injury and when they're not, how do we get this information out there? How do we get sports organizations to invest in women's health and educating the women so that they can do their, their best performance, because that's what everyone wants in that case, right.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, no, that's a great question, and what comes to mind for me is, I mean with, with any corporation, whether it's a sports organization or for profit, nonprofit, what's going to drive momentum forward is performance, and you want to look at how your, your, your, your leaders are performing, how your athletes are performing, and so I think there's obviously a direct correlation between looking at that data and making sure that we're doing everything we can to help women perform and help women, you know, do what they need to do at their highest possible levels. So I think taking that data on, you know, health and wellness, especially within our reproductive cycle, and understanding how it relates to women and their performance, I think that's important. I don't think that's a bad thing. I think it's it's, it's something that will help all of us push to our peak and and and and, push forward and and and cross those boundaries that maybe we haven't been able to cross, because something as simple, like you said, as nutrition can make such a big difference on on cognitive function, on on how you're feeling that day, Um and and.

Speaker 2:

We can't just run away from those things and say, oh, we're the same as men. We can just walk through things I mean we have been doing that. That's what we've done forever. We're still doing it, Um. But if we can improve and we can help, can help, you know, women in leadership. We can help athletes, we can help women within any organization improve how they're feeling and how they're performing, that's not a bad thing at all and I think that that's important to address.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and we are different than men. By the way, we're not the same, and you know you've heard it said time and time again that we're not just smaller men. Entire makeup is different. So it is important to talk about. You know, as we're thinking about advocacy, and you know what can we do to move the needle forward, um, something that that just came to mind was advocacy for our audience, or from our audience, and action steps that they might be able to take to help move the needle, push that needle forward as well.

Speaker 1:

And you know, for the life of me, um, I can't remember. I can't remember where it was, but I saw an article. There was a woman that owned a sports team, I believe, or maybe she's building an arena. Do you know what I'm talking about? Yeah, can you speak to that a little bit, because she is doing some amazing things with that project and I think you know. I remember hearing one of the Seattle Storm co-founders recently. She said someone asked well, how can we really move that needle forward and ensure that women's sports is supported? And she just said come on, exactly, and I think what? What this person's doing enables women to do that when they're menstruating, for example, if there's tampons and pads in the bathrooms. So can you speak to that a little bit? I'm so glad that you know what I'm talking about.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, actually, yeah, that's that's awesome that you brought that up. So, michelle Kang, she's actually the owner of the Washington Spirit. She actually has a stake in a couple of European women's soccer teams as well I can't remember off the top of my head, I think Leon is one but she's actually invested. Recently I think it was early August it came out that she invested $50 million in a global initiative aimed specifically at enhancing health and performance of elite female athletes, and that, in particular, really excited me, because we're not just talking about what can we eat better or how can we weight train better. We're talking about how our body works and how we can get the most out of our body and how do we prepare for what our body is going through. So I'm really excited for that program and I think that she has um, you know you you talk about leaders um, michelle Kang, she's definitely one that's leading the charge. I don't, I don't know if you heard, but she got she just got Michael Johnson into Magic Johnson.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, Magic.

Speaker 2:

Johnson she was. I know she was just pulling her charm and getting him into the Washington Spirit Club, which is awesome and I'm really excited for that. But, yeah, more, more of that, more women and, you know, leaders pushing forward on you know, how can we really look at what women's bodies are going through and how can we get the best out of our performance, out of our bodies, out of our you know, our life, and I think it's important that we continue those types of initiatives and I'm so excited to see what comes of that program in particular.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, me too. So looking ahead at next steps for you and we Belong Everywhere what's in the plan and what do you hope to accomplish?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I mean the whole goal for us is we aim to level the playing board.

Speaker 2:

We want to see equal opportunity and representation in sports leadership. So for us, that's going to be working through our advocacy programs, our youth program, our professional development program and, very much, our data program, which I can't express enough. I'm so excited, for we want to see women continue to rise. We want to be able to show through data that we've helped women push forward through our programs and into sports leadership. Essentially, I would love to build a pipeline. I would love to see ideally I would love to see the women we work with, the community we create, moving directly into these particular roles or creating their own roles really. So that's really what's next for us. We're in a phase right now of really developing our programs and solidifying everything we need to launch. We will launch beginning of 2025 as far as activating our programs, but so excited for this next year and the networking that we'll do and the partnerships that we'll gain and, you know, ultimately just pushing that needle forward for women in sports leadership.

Speaker 1:

I have to ask because I'm just thinking about my daughter when she was younger. You know I'm picturing her with her little pigtails, girls, you know. If she were sitting in front of you, what would you say to her? What advice would you give her as an aspiring little girl or young woman looking at leadership role in sports? What would you say to her?

Speaker 2:

That is a great question. So don't be afraid to take space, don't be afraid to move into the space that you feel passionate about and take the risks. You know it's important that I think a lot. You know it's even stereotypical as women that we take less risk than men, which is probably good most of the time. But I think in this term, in this context, you know, moving into leadership, you've got to take some risks, you've got to push your own needle forward and you have to be OK with failing. You have to be OK with you know the steps and all that comes with getting to that point that you consider success. And that for me comes a lot with a growth mindset, understanding that I don't know everything and I can learn and I can move forward and I can grow as I continue in leadership. And I hope that all girls, all women, all boys, everyone really understands that you don't have to have it all at once, all the answers, all the keys. Take that action forward, take your space, take your risks and just have that growth mindset.

Speaker 3:

I love take your space. You know, women don't always tend to do that and, um, I always have to remember that there's there's space to take up and it's okay, and you have permission to do that. That's so great. How can our listeners support and get or and or get involved with? We Belong Everywhere.

Speaker 2:

Great question. So for now, really, um, really, spreading the word is important. Just just just having you know, just sharing what we're doing, what we stand for. And you know we're at a point where we're just making those partnerships and we're aligning with other companies, other organizations that really understand how necessary it is to have, you know, representation of women in leadership, so sharing the word. And then also, you know we have a website up that anyone can go to webelongeverywhereorg. That shares a lot about our programs and what we're doing and you can definitely contact us through there if you have any questions or if you're interested in getting involved. But you know, as we move towards launching this next year, you know, just keep us in mind and you know we hope to engage our community and continue to grow.

Speaker 3:

So we belong everywhereorg. That's great. That's a great place to find you.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, jen, you're. You're a nonprofit, yes, and I know I was in development for years and years and years, so I'll just say it's okay to say it on the podcast. I'm assuming that you'll take donations as well, and financial support if they need it. So anyone that wants to support them financially, you can find them on the website, because I'm sure that that's an important piece of keeping your organization going. So, thank you, I appreciate it. Yeah, absolutely. Is there anything else you would love to share with our audience that we haven't talked about today?

Speaker 2:

day, I think you know, just off the top of my head, just you know, keep being. I think it's important to just be passionate about what you're passionate about and just don't I can't express it enough. I said it take your space, be who you are, you know. I think we all kind of share that vision and philosophy of of we're all doing the best we can and we're all passionate about, you know, helping each other out. So, yeah, I mean in general, let's, let's do this, let's, let's push forward and keep, keep the momentum going for for us as women.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, it's such a good reminder, though really. I mean I know you said it, but it's just a good reminder for everybody like you, we, you and you. Go after those things that you want and don't let it take up the space and don't let anyone get in your way when you know what it is there's nobody else like you, so we need you.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, okay. Well, we're going to have some fun. We end all of our podcasts with a rapid fire, so we're just going to ask you some fun questions. So let's see, kim, do you want to go first? What do we have here today?

Speaker 3:

Hey, yes, I like this question a lot. What's your favorite comfort food, Jen? Oh my gosh.

Speaker 2:

Oh my gosh. Okay, I have two ice cream and fries.

Speaker 3:

I know it's terrible for you and I love it, but yeah, I would too.

Speaker 1:

Those are probably my two. Well, you know, you can actually dip your fries in the ice cream, so you can actually have both All right. How about domestic travel or international travel?

Speaker 2:

Oh, my goodness. Okay, so I've actually been everywhere, except for believe it or not, I haven't been to the Northeast. I haven't been to New York City yet, so I need to go there next. That's my next step. Internationally, I would say the UK is pretty amazing and that's definitely a go to spot.

Speaker 1:

Well, we might have to take you to the UK with our colleagues across the country. You can come to Women in Work Summit with us to New York.

Speaker 2:

We'll just pack a bag for you. Let's do it.

Speaker 3:

I'm ready. Are you an early bird or a night owl?

Speaker 2:

Oh my gosh. Okay, so, since becoming a mom, there's no way I can be a night owl. I would love to, but it's not a thing, it's. It's definitely early for me for the foreseeable future.

Speaker 1:

That's when I changed to Jen, when I had my babies, and it was like hey, I guess I'm a morning person. Now, here we go, all right, and the last question we ask everyone is what piece of advice or the best piece of advice that you've ever received?

Speaker 2:

Oh my gosh.

Speaker 2:

Okay, so that's a big one for me.

Speaker 2:

So when I was in college, taking English two or something like that, my professor which I didn't really like too much because I didn't feel she was a good motivator, but she did say something to me that changed my life moving forward, which it was in reference to you know, what kind of autonomy, what kind of power do we have in society? And and basically my answer to that prompt was well, there's only so much I can do. And she just looked at me and she, she was dead straight, looking in my eyes and she says you have all the power. And she, she said it to me in a way where, like, what are you talking about? You, you've got, you've got a ton of power and and you have, say, and you have, you know, the ability to create change. And and I was for from that moment on, I was like, okay, it stuck with me and I really kind of shaped a lot of my decision making after that and it was a huge empowerment moment for me. So, yeah, that's, that's definitely it.

Speaker 1:

Wow. Wow I love those moments, right? Do you remember her name, oh?

Speaker 2:

my gosh, no moments, right? Do you remember her name?

Speaker 3:

Oh my gosh. No, we should give her a shout out, maybe.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and in this small world that we're in, I love, I love that, and hopefully someday she'll know the impact that she had on you, because I'm sure that it impacted what you're doing with. We Belong Everywhere as well, so it has been a delight to have you on the show. We'll post all of your information in show notes, but until then, audience go find joy in the journey. Thank you for listening to the Medovia menopause podcast. If you enjoyed today's show, please give it a thumbs up. Subscribe for future episodes. Leave a review and share this episode with a friend. Episodes. Leave a review and share this episode with a friend. There are more than 50 million women in the US who are navigating the menopause transition. The situation is compounded by the presence of stigma, shame and secrecy surrounding menopause, posing significant challenges and disruptions in women's personal and professional spheres. Medovia is out to change the narrative. Learn more at Medoviacom. That's M-I-D-O-V-I-A dot com.

People on this episode

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April Haberman

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Kim Hart

Co-host