Despite the incredible talents we’ve seen across women’s sports, when it comes to young girls, numerous barriers continue to hinder their ability to participate. According to the Women’s Sports Foundation, girls have 1.3 million fewer opportunities to play high school sports than boys, meaning they have to instead look elsewhere for sporting opportunities. Limited access to playing facilities near homes, cost, safety and transportation issues are just some of the reasons girls drop out of sports at two times the rate of boys by the age of 14. And while it might sound like such issues are confined to the amateur level, the reality is that they continue to exist even for professionals, as we’ve seen by the lengthy equal pay lawsuit that gripped the US women’s national soccer team.
It’s this that Nike is committed to changing. Working with a number of female athletes from around the world, the footwear giant and sports company has launched the Nike Athlete Think Tank, looking to address the problem of girls’ participation in sport at its earliest stages. A US$1.3 million donation will be made by Nike with the sole intention of creating a better future for the next generation of women in sport and creating programs that increase access to sports participation for girls.
From top athletes like Serena Williams, swimmer Simone Manuel, Paralympic track and field athlete Scout Bassett, runner Shalane Flanagan and football stars Deyna Castellanos and Ada Hegerberg to name a few, Nike asked for feedback and collaboration. According to the company’s vice president of women’s global sports marketing, Tanya Hvizdak: “We opened up the conversation to hear their insights and help inform where we can be better.”
Hvizdak added, “We specifically asked how they believe sport can move the world forward, how we can help break barriers to sport, and how we can better leverage their input and ideas.”
During think tank sessions, athletes examined the barriers they faced in their own journey and how programs and scholarships proved instrumental in helping them overcome such challenges. They stressed the need to make sport an inclusive environment for everyone, especially disabled athletes, and the need for initiatives that promote equal opportunity, pay, and support, as well as respect for women’s bodies. They also emphasised the financial difficulties that play a huge part in preventing access to sport – whether that’s through facilities, access to equipment, or simply competition.
Based on feedback from the Think Tank, Nike will invest the $1.3 million into a range of programs through the Charities Aid Foundation America, with the grant being split between the 13 athletes and given in each of their names to 20 total organisations nominated. Serena Williams identified Brown Girls Dream, an LA-based organisation that pairs young women of colour with mentors in the multimedia industry. She also recommended the Yetunde Price Resource Centre, a nonprofit created in memory of one of her older sisters that partners with trauma-informed programs to promote healing.
Athletic star Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce nominated her Pocket Rocket Foundation which grants scholarships to high school student-athletes in Jamaica. “It’s so important to support and give back to athletes at different junctures of their lives,” said the sprinter. “I want to use my voice and my relationship with Nike to grow and develop sport for future generations.”
