{"id":22165,"date":"2025-04-10T13:40:32","date_gmt":"2025-04-10T13:40:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22165"},"modified":"2025-04-10T13:40:33","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T13:40:33","slug":"the-wnba-and-its-sponsors-are-expanding-efforts-to-keep-girls-in-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22165","title":{"rendered":"The WNBA and its sponsors are expanding efforts to keep girls in sports"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

The first few months of the second Trump administration have been marked by anti-DEI efforts targeting corporate America and the government, and as the administration seeks to prevent trans athletes from competing in sports, athletic organizations are finding themselves in the crosshairs.<\/p>\n

The WNBA is one of a few sports leagues standing firm. This year, the league is doubling down on its partnership with Voice in Sport, a platform that\u2019s designed to keep girls and women involved in sports through services like content and athlete mentorships, and which shares stories in support of trans athletes and has highlighted how anti-trans legislation can negatively affect women\u2019s sports.<\/p>\n

Last year, the W and its Changemaker Collective, five brands that have pledged to partner with the league beyond financial investments, teamed up with Voice in Sport to provide virtual mentorship to 50,000 girls. The group is aiming to bring that number up to 100,000 this year with new services, athlete mentors, and brand integrations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe long-term support from brands, investors, and governing bodies is really how we\u2019re going to power the women\u2019s sports and youth sports ecosystem,\u201d Stef Strack, founder and CEO of Voice in Sport, told Marketing Brew. \u201cWe\u2019re at a really critical moment right now with the new administration, and so it\u2019s really cool to look at a league like the W that\u2019s leading the way with how you get brands to triple down on investing in women in sports.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brand buy-in<\/h2>\n

In addition to bringing 50,000 girls into the Voice in Sport ecosystem in the first year of the partnership, the organization provided more than 140 group mentorship sessions about topics like body image, mental health, and nutrition with 12 athlete mentors representing each team in the league, including Aliyah Boston of the Indiana Fever, Alysha Clark of the Seattle Storm, and Haley Jones of the Atlanta Dream.<\/p>\n

The Changemakers\u2014AT&T, CarMax, Deloitte, Google, and Nike, where Strack was previously an executive\u2014helped fund that work, WNBA Chief Growth Officer Colie Edison said. Year 2 of the partnership is set to include even more involvement from those brands, like a series of sessions on the Voice in Sport platform that will feature women execs discussing their paths from sport to the C-suite.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe resources that they\u2019re providing are making the virtual mentorship accessible and sustainable,\u201d Edison said. \u201cBut this year, having these women leaders from these companies provide the virtual mentoring sessions really shows young girls that a career in sports doesn\u2019t have to just be on the court.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
Get marketing news you’ll actually want to read<\/h5>\n

Marketing Brew informs marketing pros of the latest on brand strategy, social media, and ad tech via our weekday newsletter, virtual events, marketing conferences, and digital guides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The group is seeking to mentor another 50,000 girls this year, Strack said, a goal supported by the addition of four more athlete mentors and the debut of a Voice in Sport app that gives users access to virtual mentorship and other content like giveaways to encourage engagement. The giveaways will incorporate products from Changemaker brands, she said.<\/p>\n

Long game<\/h2>\n

The partnerships stemmed from a commonly cited stat that shows by the age of 14, girls drop out of sports at 2x the rate boys do. After just a year, Strack said there\u2019s no hard evidence to suggest that figure has shifted, but said that anecdotally, girls in the program say they feel more optimistic about keeping up their athletic involvement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe long-term impact that we\u2019re looking to make will take years, and it\u2019s not something that will turn around so quickly, but there\u2019s a commitment from the WNBA Changemakers and, of course, from Voice in Sport, to ensure that these girls have this access for multiple years,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The increased visibility of women\u2019s leagues like the W through broader media rights deals could also help girls feel more empowered to continue playing sports, Strack said, and Voice in Sport has a nonprofit foundation that\u2019s currently working to help enact the Fair Play for Women Act, a bill that would strengthen Title IX.<\/p>\n

Edison said the W remains committed to working with brands that \u201cmatch our core values\u201d and that she hasn\u2019t seen any pullback on these types of initiatives from sponsors, likely because of that effort. The NBA, meanwhile, might be without a DEI head soon: Current Chief DEI Officer Lesley Slaton Brown is stepping down in June, and the NBA is reportedly considering whether or not to fill the role.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the corporate partnership side, the financial support is helping us stand up programs like this, but it also amplifies the stories and the impact of women in sports on a global stage, showing the world that women\u2019s sports are not just viable, they\u2019re essential,\u201d Edison said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first few months of the second Trump administration have been marked by anti-DEI efforts targeting corporate America and the government, and as the administration seeks to prevent trans athletes from competing in sports, athletic organizations are finding themselves in the crosshairs. The WNBA is one of a few sports leagues standing firm. This year, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22166,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-22165","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-marketing"},"yoast_head":"\nThe WNBA and its sponsors are expanding efforts to keep girls in sports | Brandiary<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The first few months of the second Trump administration have been marked by anti-DEI efforts targeting corporate America and the government, and as the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22165\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The WNBA and its sponsors are expanding efforts to keep girls in sports | Brandiary\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The first few months of the second Trump administration have been marked by anti-DEI efforts targeting corporate America and the government, and as the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22165\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Brandiary\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-10T13:40:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-10T13:40:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1744292432_0281f94b8591dd9bea2ee868e949b3e8af9e4a81-1920x1080.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"News Room\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"News Room\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22165#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22165\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"News Room\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5062dafb0f932b59aa228f1a047332f4\"},\"headline\":\"The WNBA and its sponsors are expanding efforts to keep girls in sports\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-10T13:40:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-10T13:40:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22165\"},\"wordCount\":825,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Marketing\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22165#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22165\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22165\",\"name\":\"The WNBA and its sponsors are expanding efforts to keep girls in sports | Brandiary\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-10T13:40:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-10T13:40:33+00:00\",\"description\":\"The first few months of the second Trump administration have been marked by anti-DEI efforts targeting corporate America and the government, and as the\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22165#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22165\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22165#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The WNBA and its sponsors are expanding efforts to keep girls in sports\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/\",\"name\":\"Brandiary\",\"description\":\"Latest Business and Startup News and Updates\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Brandiary\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/b-logo-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/b-logo-1.png\",\"width\":381,\"height\":100,\"caption\":\"Brandiary\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5062dafb0f932b59aa228f1a047332f4\",\"name\":\"News Room\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/avatar_user_1_1688031660-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/avatar_user_1_1688031660-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"News Room\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The WNBA and its sponsors are expanding efforts to keep girls in sports | Brandiary","description":"The first few months of the second Trump administration have been marked by anti-DEI efforts targeting corporate America and the government, and as the","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22165","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The WNBA and its sponsors are expanding efforts to keep girls in sports | Brandiary","og_description":"The first few months of the second Trump administration have been marked by anti-DEI efforts targeting corporate America and the government, and as the","og_url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22165","og_site_name":"Brandiary","article_published_time":"2025-04-10T13:40:32+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-04-10T13:40:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1744292432_0281f94b8591dd9bea2ee868e949b3e8af9e4a81-1920x1080.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"News Room","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"News Room","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22165#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22165"},"author":{"name":"News Room","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5062dafb0f932b59aa228f1a047332f4"},"headline":"The WNBA and its sponsors are expanding efforts to keep girls in sports","datePublished":"2025-04-10T13:40:32+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-10T13:40:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22165"},"wordCount":825,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Marketing"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22165#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22165","url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22165","name":"The WNBA and its sponsors are expanding efforts to keep girls in sports | Brandiary","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-04-10T13:40:32+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-10T13:40:33+00:00","description":"The first few months of the second Trump administration have been marked by anti-DEI efforts targeting corporate America and the government, and as the","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22165#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22165"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=22165#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The WNBA and its sponsors are expanding efforts to keep girls in sports"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/","name":"Brandiary","description":"Latest Business and Startup News and Updates","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#organization","name":"Brandiary","url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/b-logo-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/b-logo-1.png","width":381,"height":100,"caption":"Brandiary"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5062dafb0f932b59aa228f1a047332f4","name":"News Room","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/avatar_user_1_1688031660-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/avatar_user_1_1688031660-96x96.png","caption":"News Room"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com"],"url":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22165"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22165\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22167,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22165\/revisions\/22167"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}