Atlanta’s WNBA team paves the way for future female leaders

In 2024, the most-watched college sporting event – ​​excluding football – on all major networks was the March Madness women’s basketball championship game between the Iowa State Hawkeyes and the University Gamecocks. University of South Carolina. This shattered records for industry networks like ESPN, marking a huge achievement for female athletes who, just 53 years ago, were not allowed to play full-court basketball games.

Sixty years ago, when the Civil Rights Act was passed, the idea of ​​18.3 million people watching women play basketball might have seemed impossible. But signing the law in 1964 would pave the way for Title IX, prohibiting sex discrimination in educational programs and activities. This has been a game changer for girls’ and women’s participation in sports.

In 2023, the National Federation of State High School Associations reported that approximately 6 million high school students participated in athletic activities during the 2022-23 calendar year. Among these engagement rates, Georgia ranks 48th out of 50 states for girls’ participation.

Morgan Shaw Parker, president and COO of the Atlanta Dream WNBA team, said she was disappointed by the low ranking.

“It’s alarming to me. That’s why we need to rely on this community as much as possible,” Shaw Parker said, noting that in Georgia there are about 77,000 girls who play sports, but many of them will stop participating in sports. he age of 13 – a similar statistic to STEM. “That’s why we’ve partnered with Microsoft to create clinics that empower girls and women in the Atlanta area.”

The program focuses on middle school students where, as of May 2024, 18,352 of the 43,407 girls enrolled in the Atlanta public school system are Black and live in underserved communities. This fact resonates with the dream of Atlanta, whose WNBA league athletes are 85% black, according to Shaw Parker.

Visibility and access are high on Shaw Parker’s list of priorities. She attributes personal and professional success to participation in team sports.

The idea is not far-fetched. A recent study conducted by Ernst & Young found that 94% of female executives participated in team sports during their youth, whether in high school or college.

“Sports impact women very differently, especially when it comes to business,” noted Shaw Parker. “Failure is mandatory when it comes to progress in business. You have to have confidence to be able to fail. What did you learn from this failure and how will you improve the situation next time? Sport tests you in these areas.

In February, Laila Brock, Atlanta Dream’s senior vice president of strategic partnerships and community impact, participated in a mentoring event sponsored by local nonprofit Women in Sports and Events (WISE). She is one of many women affiliated with the WNBA team who doesn’t view their role in the Dream as just a job. For some, it’s a way of life.

Head coach Tanisha Wright and guards Rhyne Howard and Haley Jones come to mind as Shaw Parker highlights the unsung heroism within the Dream organization. Their performances and leadership are among hundreds of women whose work deserves recognition that often goes unnoticed or gets little or no attention at all due to the stigma that persists in the sports world.

“You have to see this,” Shaw Parker said. “You have to Google the name Switzerland, women, uterus, sports.”

She’s referring to Katherine Switzer, who made history in 1967 after becoming the first woman to run the Boston Marathon. In her memoir, she describes a basketball coach at her high school who told her that women would never play men’s basketball because too many jump balls could “move the uterus.” “We’re not far from that time, but we’re finally being recognized for the work we’ve done in obscurity for decades,” Shaw Parker noted. “Sport has been a catalyst for change. If we help women continue to understand and recognize what they bring to the table, as a community we can take this moment and turn it into momentum for the future.