It’s a question we got often back in 2011, when we embarked on our first Game Changers publication. It’s been asked of us each year since then, including leading up this year’s section, our fifth annual Game Changers effort.
The answer, then and now, is that it provides an opportunity for a discussion. It’s a conversation that involves both things that have been done and, without doubt, things that still need to be done.
With this year’s section, we now have profiled almost 200 women across our five Game Changers publications. The annual selections of the women we profile are never easy. Each year, there are many good stories to share. Our decision about which of these stories to tell is guided by the following principle:
Our goal is to shine a spotlight on a group of women — some you might know, others you might be reading about for the first time — who are contributing to the success of the industry and doing so in myriad ways.
As you read the stories of this year’s Game Changers, you’ll see that each woman has had a different path to her present-day success. None, however, would say that her path has been easy. Working in sports isn’t easy — for anyone. But for women in particular, our Game Changers will tell you the challenges they’ve faced have been different than what many of their male counterparts might have experienced.
They’re not alone. Elsewhere in this week’s issue, Val Ackerman and Billie Jean King point out some of the challenges that remain for women seeking to find success in sports. For all the strides women have made — on the field and on the court, along the sidelines, and in the boardroom — obstacles to advancement remain.
Those obstacles, and hoped-for solutions, will be part of the discussion in New York on Thursday, at our annual Game Changers conference. It’s a conversation that we hope continues throughout the year from there, as well. It’s a discussion well worth having.
It’s the reason why Game Changers is the special section it is.
Mark Mensheha can be reached at mmensheha@sportsbusinessjournal.com.
