‘HERstory’ in the NBA
Women Empowerment on the Rise Around the League
Since their establishment, men have dominated professional sports leagues both on teams and within organizations, and women have been greatly outshone and outnumbered. In recent years, however, league offices have made more of an effort to hire and empower women within organizations. The NBA in particular has done a considerable job of bringing on talented and capable women to promote equality, boost the skill and potential within organizations, and prove the importance of women in sports.
According to the 2022 NBA Racial and Gender Report Card, there has been a positive trend for women in the NBA at both team and league office levels. The NBA league office has reached its highest percentage of women in professional staff roles in more than a decade at 43.4 percent, with two women serving as presidents in the league office. Kathy Behrens is the President of Social Responsibility and Player Programs and Amy Brooks is the President of Team Marketing and Business Operations as well as Chief Innovation Officer. No other professional sports league has two women serving in the league office as presidents.
“I get really excited every time I see a woman hold a position for the first time,” said Lauren Rosen, the Philadelphia 76ers Team Reporter, and Beat Writer. Rosen, who is in her fourth year with the 76ers, acknowledged that most of her experiences in her career so far have been colored by being around men. She claimed that just like in any career field, there is extra pressure on the ‘other’ or the minority. “There is pressure to be less vague in our position. The rope is very short compared to male journalists […] Men are always looking to discredit female content creators and journalists.” Rosen described how there is a small margin of error for women in the NBA and how she must navigate her job with accuracy and professionalism.
When talking about watching women holding positions for the first time, Rosen referred mostly to Kate Scott, the 76ers play-by-play announcer. Scott is the first woman to commentate for the 76ers and together, Scott and Lisa Byington, the Milwaukee Bucks play-by-play announcer, are the first two female play-by-play announcers in the NBA. Rosen also alluded to other female reporters and announcers around the league such as Serena Winters and Doris Burke, referring to Burke as “the G.O.A.T.” (greatest of all time).
While the 76ers organization has not specifically been the most impressive in terms of hiring women in managerial and organizational positions, other organizations around the league have achieved much higher gender equality. Kristen Roberts, the Brooklyn Nets and BSE Global Communications Coordinator works on a business communications team made up entirely of women. When Roberts started as an intern at BSE Global, that team was only made up of three women. Now, not only are there five women on that particular team, but other teams in the Nets Public Relations and Communications Department are becoming more and more majority women and the men are now occasionally outnumbered. According to Roberts, there is not a department in the Nets organization or at BSE Global that doesn’t have women in staff and leadership positions.
Roberts named Mandy Gutmann, her former team leader, as a woman in the industry who inspires her and other coworkers such as Rachael Lewis and Margaret Bourn who paved the way and had her back. She mentioned a quote from one of her coworkers that stuck with her and that she thinks all women who want to work in sports should keep in mind. “Surround yourself with women who would mention your name in a room full of opportunities,” she recalled. She continued in her own words, “Women in sports have this chip on their shoulders. The most successful women are the ones who help others.”
Younger girls in younger generations are also becoming more interested in working in professional sports and nowadays, they have role models that past generations have not had. Roberts claimed, “Women are becoming more and more interested in sports and entertainment because of the women who work in it now. […] Sometimes it doesn’t look possible because you don’t see someone who looks like you doing it.” Roberts thinks the NBA has done a really good job of empowering younger women and showing that they can “hang with the guys.”
Rosen shared the same sentiment. She said, “I hope in the next generation, women won’t be watching women do things for the first time anymore.” She also hopes that women in the NBA like Serena Winters, the Cleveland Cavaliers sideline reporter, can inspire younger women as she has Rosen and show women that it’s possible to work in professional sports and raise a family at the same time. Winters had a baby girl in July of 2022 and is still traveling with the Cavaliers and covering all games.
When offering advice to young women who have hopes of working in professional sports, Rosen would tell girls not to give up. “People who give up make space for the people who don’t,” she said. She talked frequently about the importance of perseverance and how “it’s not always the person with the most talent, it’s the person who works the hardest.” Roberts shared similar words of wisdom. “Go for it,” she said. “All you need is one yes. […] Find people who will mention your name in a room full of opportunities.”
The NBA has marked significant improvements in hiring women over the last decade and the numbers are only growing. Outside of the league, women now make up one-third of the NBA audience. The percentage of female viewers grew 23 percent during the 2021-22 regular season. Women have become more and more interested in professional sports in general and Rosen and Roberts are just two of the countless talented and successful women around the NBA who are finding their way in a gradually growing room of opportunities.
https://frontofficesports.com/women-now-make-up-one-third-of-nba-audience/
Riley Chodoroff, Grade 12. Interests/hobbies include music, dancing, NHS, the International Cultures Club, traveling, watching basketball, and hanging...
