Women across the world have been underrepresented in a variety of different types of industries.
With this underrepresentation in male-dominated fields, there arises other issues such as mistreatment, harassment and hostile work environments. Between the lines, women slowly make their way on courts and on fields in the world of working in sports. Today, women working in the sports settings pave the way for more women to come.
Within the last 10 years, women have made the distance smaller when comparing the amounts of women to men working in sports. According to the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports, “The overall percentage of women in the NFL’s league office was 41.3% in 2022, compared to 29.6% just in 2014.” With this, people can see that more and more women are getting involved and staying in their jobs while working in sports today. Still with this percent rising, there continues to be instances where women do not feel supported in working in the sports field. In up and rising generations, social media platforms offer these women a space to express themselves and find the support they need to succeed in their careers.
A part of this group of women building their way around sports is Emmy Award winner and advocate, Janae Adams. Adams works today as a broadcast agent with CSE Talent. There she negotiates contracts for broadcasters and reporters allowing them more opportunities to advance in their careers. She uses her platforms to create a strong network for more women working in sports to have the support they need to be successful.
“I feel like the hardest part about working in sports as a woman is not being taken seriously,” Adams said. Adams dreamed at a young age to work in sports as she found interests in writing and reporting. Growing up, she enjoyed watching the Giants and Warriors play. As a child, she was involved in soccer, basketball and softball. Later in life, Adams took her softball talent to the next level playing at Alabama A&M then transferring to Clark Atlanta University. While studying for her degree in mass media arts with a concentration in journalism, Adams earned a spot at Turner Sports, now known as Werner Media, as an intern.
“The internship opened my eyes to the production side,” Adams said. During her senior year, she completed a year-long internship with ESPN’s, The Undefeated. After graduating college, Adams took a job at the MLB Network as a broadcast associate which included a lot of video editing and highlight packages.
Throughout her early years in her career, Adams saw differences how she was treated compared to her male colleagues at work.
“It’s the most annoying part in the beginning of my career having to constantly prove myself to people about random knowledge in sports in order to be taken seriously,” Adams said. She made her way to work with the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans doing video edits and creating content.
“Each place I worked at, there were areas where I was not supported as a woman, and others I was,” Adams said. “In New Orleans, my boss had come from the NFL Network and she took me under her wing to teach me as much as she could to learn during my time with her. She would set me up with different departments and different people, stuff like that really helped.” Adams was able to build up her success and credentials after being supported by those who took her seriously.
Moving forward in her career, Adams began working at The Athletic as she got more into writing and working as a breaking news editor. During her time there, she was able to learn more about all kinds of different sports, like hockey. A breaking news editor is required to see the process of determining what headlines are considered breaking news.
“Me and this other girl on my team made it a big priority to advocate that women’s sports are headline worthy,” Adams said. Transitioning out of journalism, Adams made the jump to the business side of sports and became a broadcast agent with CSE Talent. Adams continues to advocate on her platforms how important it was for her to have mentors getting started in her career.
“I think we are in the right direction for representation for women working in sports,” Adams said. “We are seeing a lot of women hold great jobs in sports now. We have female referees, umpires, presidents of teams.” Although women in sports are moving in this positive direction, there are still so many milestones to hit in the industry.
Adams encourages everyone to give back as mentors and support rising sports professionals.
“There’s someone trying to get to where you are when you think you aren’t there yourself,” Adams said. “It’s good to have mentors to take the time to invest in you. The way people took me under their wing, I want to pay it forward and do the same for generations to come.”
Along with Adams, more women are emerging with platforms to support more women working and competing in sports. Ashley White is the host of the podcast called Bonafide Her. In her podcast, White brings to light the strength and power behind different people who advocate for women involved in sports. In her episodes, White discusses the importance of the support throughout her career and hopes she can provide the same for others in the representation, not only as a woman but as a person with a disability.
Growing up in a sports-loving home, White decided to pick up a basketball and start learning to play at five years old.
“At five years old, I was diagnosed with autism,” White said. “Doctors would tell my family the fate I had in life was not to go far in anything really.” White began to play basketball growing up and later learned to play softball like her sister. Through school, White would see all the other girls sitting out or not participating in gym class while she enjoyed playing ball with the boys. After joining a traveling basketball team with guys from her church, White was able to receive more opportunities towards her athletic career. White attended North Carolina State in hopes of getting the opportunity to manage the women’s teams there, but she was never given the opportunity to.
“There is always a blessing in disguise behind every situation,” White said.
Before attending University of North Carolina Wilmington, White was approached by a woman who saw talent in her and invited her to play basketball with the Special Olympics unified team. While at UNCW, she finally became a manager with the women’s basketball team. Getting involved in sports, White faced some of the hardest setbacks after not being taken seriously. As she was completing her sports management program that included many tedious projects, White kept getting let down after not being approved to travel with the teams after certain managers were selected for away games. The away game White was able to manage her senior year, her mom drove her two hours to be at.
“When I found out I was unable to be at all these games, I was distraught; I missed out on a lot of good opportunities,” White said. “I have to work ten times harder than regular folks to get or complete something. Not because I am just a woman and fighting to be taken seriously in my field, but I am a person with autism. I am a trailblazer and I love what I do.”
White is not only a podcaster, but a graphic designer, author and writer for Beautiful Ballers. As she moves forward in her career, White aims to create safe spaces for athletes, coaches, and women working in sports to share their stories and successes to inspire others.
“If folks took the time to hear these women’s stories, I feel they would realize that we have come a long way and on the same if not beyond the level our male colleagues are on,” White said.
Coaches today are also taking the initiative to encourage and teach athletes to respect everyone involved in the sports field regardless of who they are. Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders, head football coach at the University of Colorado Boulder, took the opportunity in 2023 to talk to his players about the importance of respecting the women around them in their lives. He made this happen by bringing in female staff to the meeting to show them how important they are towards the success of their program.
“One thing I don’t condone is disrespect for a woman,” Sanders said. “We are going to respect our women wholeheartedly.”
All three of these people work to advocate for more support and opportunities for women to be respected, as well as be represented with working in the sports industry.
“We all learn together, we need to uplift everyone and create a change for generations to come,” Adams said.
