women in sport - Women of Rubies

In Career Gems March 12, 2019 By Editor

U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM SUES U.S SOCCER FEDERATION FOR GENDER DISCRIMINATION

The United States Women’s Soccer Team (WNT) has filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), marking a monumental step in their long-running fight for equal pay and equal playing conditions. Arguably even more dramatic? The fact that the news comes just three months before the ladies kick off defending their Women’s World Cup title in June.

In the lawsuit filed in a federal court in Los Angeles, all 28 members accused the federation, their employer, and the head of all United States soccer, of years of “institutionalized gender discrimination,” according to the New York Times . The players, including big names like Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan, and Megan Rapinoe, are upholding that this such inequity can be seen not just in their paychecks, but also “nearly every aspect of [their] work conditions,” including but not limited to, where and how often they played, the medical treatment and coaching received, and traveling conditions.

And so, it seems pretty understandable that they’re not holding anything back-going as far as to remind the USSF that they have openly admitted to “purposeful gender discrimination” even in the instances where the WNT earned more, played more, won more, and earned more championships-all of which garnered higher TV audiences-compared to the Men’s National Team (MNT).

USWNTPA’s statement on the Lloyd Morgan et. al v. USSF filingpic.twitter.com/wt7l8IYAAG – USWNTPA (@USWNTPlayers) March 8, 2019

If you’ve been keeping up with these players’ path to justice, then this might sound familiar. That’s because the recent lawsuit claims mirror similar accusations made in a 2016 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint filed by five players: Lloyd, Morgan, Rapinoe, Beck Sauerbrunn, and former player Hope Solo. Three years later, there was still no resolution or “noticeable action,” per the NYT , so it doesn’t come as a surprise that the ladies took the next step and even more action: suing.

The WNT has won three of seven all-time Women’s World Cup titles, including the last one in 2015, and the U.S. has won gold four times in the six Olympic Games where soccer has been played. The MNT? They took third place in the first World Cup back in 1930 and didn’t qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Credit: Pulse

In Interviews&profile February 22, 2019 By Esther Ijewere

MEET CYNTHIA MARSHALL, THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN CEO OF AN NBA TEAM

Despite a slow improvement in diversity numbers, reports show that many front-office executive seats in the NBA are still filled with an overwhelming amount of white men. But, breaking the glass ceiling in a male-dominated industry is Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynthia Marshall.

Marshall, who stepped into her position last year, is the first Black woman to serve as the CEO of an NBA team. She was tapped by Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to help the organization turn its culture around after facing several allegations of sexual harassment and abuse under its former CEO Terdema Ussery.

In a recent sit down interview with TODAY’s Craig Melvin, Marshall, a former longtime executive at AT&T, said that when she first stepped into her role she initially couldn’t believe that she was actually making history.

“It was 2018,” she told Melvin. “I shouldn’t be the first of anything in 2018.”

She admits that when she first joined the Mavericks organization, she found the team’s front-office culture to be an unfriendly environment for both women and people of color. With a determination to bring about massive change, Marshall has already increased the team’s diversity numbers to now include nearly 50 percent of women in management roles.

“Diversity is being invited to the party, but inclusion is being asked to dance,” said the University of California, Berkeley graduate. “You can be at the table, but if you aren’t being asked to talk and people aren’t including you then so what.”

When asked what being a part of Black History truly means to her, Marshall responded, “I truly believe sometimes you can’t be it if you can’t see it, and you want people to see it.”

Source: BOTWC

In lifestyle December 13, 2018 By Editor

SERENA WILLIAMS SPEAKS ON ACTIVISM AND POWER AS SHE COVERS TEEN VOGUE’S DECEMBER ISSUE

37-year-old Tennis champion, Serena Williams is the cover star for Teen Vogue’s December issue.

Serena Williams and Naomi Wadler who sat down for an interview with Lindsay Peoples Wagner, the editor-in-chief of the magazine spoke on Activism, Power and other sensitive issues.

Read below.

Lindsay Peoples Wagner: There are so many things I want to ask both of you, but one of the immediate things that comes to mind is how you’ve both taken a lot of risks in your personal and professional lives. Why have you been so willing to take risks and speak out, whether about activism or being a woman of color?

Naomi Wadler: Okay, so I want to do all of the events that I do right until I am about to go onstage, because that is when I am like —

Lindsay Peoples Wagner: You nervous?

Naomi Wadler: It’s just great to be able to have the platform that I have, and that Serena has, and that you have, because not everybody has those platforms, and so part of that is being able to lift up other voices, and so that it’s not just somebody who is famous, or well known, or just a public figure.

Serena Williams: You put that really well. We’re in a position where we have the opportunity to use our status and our social network, and to use different platforms that we are on and that we can talk about it, ’cause a lot of people see what we post and see the things that we write. And although it’s so fun to have the opportunity to post lots of fun things, I also find it really important to post and talk about real items that affect us on a day-to-day basis.

Lindsay Peoples Wagner: Serena, how do you handle it all? Your training, your beautiful baby, business. How do you handle it day to day?

Serena Williams: Honestly, I don’t know. I go to bed every night thinking, How did I get through this day? I’m sure a lot of people out there can relate, right? It’s like, this day is over, it’s 10 o’clock, I got through it. How did that happen? That’s kind of how I am. Between… I just started training. Yes, I’m still playing.

Serena Williams speaks on Power and Activism as she graces the cover of Teen Vogue (Photos)

Lindsay Peoples Wagner: We’re ready.

Serena Williams: So, that has been… OK, now I’m training on top of running this fashion company, on top of being a full-time mom. I’m super hands-on as a mom. I just take it as it is and realize that everyone goes through the same thing.

Lindsay Peoples Wagner: I want to talk about confidence. You both are so public, I’m sure you have days where you either get nervous or don’t feel great. How do you pick it back up on those days when you don’t feel so confident that you’re doing the right things or you don’t feel like things are going in that direction?

Serena Williams: I think it’s really important to realize that no day is going to be perfect. For me, that’s really hard because I strive for perfection, and I feel like everything I do has to be great and has to be perfect, because I am a true perfectionist. But that’s impossible. That’s not reasonable. Then I realize that, OK, I had a rough day today, let’s do something to make it better tomorrow. I think it’s important to expect to have some really rough times when you’re going through something, but always know that you can overcome it.

Credit: stargist.com

In self development November 14, 2018 By Editor

GQ MAGAZINE FEATURES SERENA WILLIAMS AS ITS ‘WOMAN OF THE YEAR’

GQ magazine has released four new covers featuring their 2018 Men of the Year with the fourth cover featuring Tennis champion Serena Williams as the Woman of the Year.

The other covers honor Jonah Hill(director of the year), Henry Golding (star of the year) and Michael B. Jordan(leader of the year).

While Serena’s interview highlights have not been released yet, the magazine is already facing some backlash for using quotes around the word woman when calling Serena the Woman of the Year.

Though the decision to put “woman” in quotes is being viewed as questionable by some, added context is that the word was handwritten by Off-White and Louis Vuitton creative director Virgil Ablohwho often uses quotation marks on his Off-White designs.

Virgil Abloh designed Serena’s US Open tutu dress.

Neither GQ nor Serena Williams has responded to the backlash to her Woman of the Year cover

See the other covers below.

Source: Bella Naija

In Career Gems November 2, 2018 By Editor

SIMONE BILES BECOMES THE FIRST WOMAN TO EVER WIN 4 ALL-AROUND WORLD TITLE IN GYMNASTICS

Simone Biles has become the first woman to ever win 4 all-around world title in Gymnastics. After emerging as the winner of the women’s all around 2018 World Artistic Gymnastics Championship last week Thursday, she went ahead to compete in Doha, Qatar where she beat the silver medalist, Mai Murkami of Japan by 1.7 points.

Team USA reports that this would the eighth time in a row that an American has either won the world or Olympic all-around title. This means that Biles is responsible for five of those consecutive wins, as she has never lost a championship.

One of the highlights of her victory was her ability to stay focused even though she had been hospitalised less than 24 hours before world championship. She tweeted about her illness and also shared photos of herself while in the ER with the caption;

This kidney stone can wait…. doing it for my team! I’ll be gucci girls!

photo credit: @simonbiles

Credit: Bella Naija

In Career Gems October 25, 2018 By Editor

MEET THE TWO AFRICANS NOMINATED FOR 2018 FEMALE WORLD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

The world governing body has just announced 10 nominees for Female World Athlete of the Year – and Africa is represented on the list by two of its very best, South Africa’s Caster Semenya and Kenya’s Beatrice Chepkoech.

Despite IAAF’s new rule limiting testosterone level in female athletes, Semenya has had a good run this year. She won gold in the 800 metres at the Continental Cup in Ostrava, the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast and the African Championships in Asaba.

While staying unbeaten in these competitions, she broke an African record in the 800 metres after finishing her race in Asaba in a time of 1:56.05. In addition to that, she’s also the Commonwealth champion in the 1500 metres and the African champion in the 400 metres.

This year, Chepkoech ran 8:44.32 to set a new world record in the 3000 metres steeplechase, becoming the first woman to run under eight minutes and 50 seconds. She also set a championship record time at the African Championships in Asaba after finishing in a time of 8:59.88.

With voting already underway, IAAF will unveil five finalists in November, while the winner will be announced at the awards ceremony in December.

Credit: konbini.com

In Interviews&profile October 15, 2018 By Editor

MEET AKHONA MAKALIMA, THE FIRST FEMALE FOOTBALL REFEREE IN SOUTH AFRICA

Akhona Makalima has made history as the first woman to officiate a men’s professional football match in the country.

Since South Africa’s Premier Soccer League (PSL) was founded in 1996, the league has fielded only male referees until 2015, when Ahkona changed the narrative.

(Photo: Akhnona Makalima via Twitter)

Achieving this feat in a male-dominated sport wasn’t easy for Makalima. About seven years ago, she took advantage of an initiative created to get more women involved in football, and she eventually earned her first refereeing certificate.

She went on to become the first South African woman to pass FIFA’s fitness test for certifying referees, scaling through a series of trials most men fail.

When she eventually came on to officiate her first professional match in 2015, Makalima proved naysayers wrong by doing an incredible job. Since then she has officiated over a hundred matches in PSL, Sasol Women’s League and Africa Women Cup of Nations.

She started Inter-Refs in 2016. Through the initiative, she teaches girls about the laws of football and how they can make a livelihood through the sport.

(Photo: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images)

In Career Gems October 9, 2018 By Editor

NIGERIA’S BOBSLED AND SKELETON TEAM NOW HAVE TWO NEW ATHLETES

The Nigeria Bobsled and Skeleton Federation (NBSF) now has two new athletes, Linda Okoro and April Young.

In Nigeria’s Winter Olympics debut at PyeongChang 2018, the country was represented in bobsled by the trio of Seun Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga. It’s not clear which of these athletes will be making a comeback at Beijing 2022, but Okoro will pilot the team as a driver.

The Houston-based athlete has been a part of NBSF for a couple of months now. Having successfully trained in a bobsled driving school in New York, she looks ready to build on the achievements of the first team and possibly break new ground.

Once Beijing 2022 kicks off, Simidele Adeagbo won’t be slaying alone in the skeleton competition. Young will be joining her as Nigeria’s second representative in the sport. Based in Denver, she has already joined NBSF’s pre-season camp and is warming up for the games.

Credit: Konbini