The Girl’s Club, a new on-campus organization offers networking events and informational workshops to help women form connections and gain confidence as they pursue a career in the sports industry.
Andi Lyons, the faculty advisor for Girl’s Club and a member of the BW sports administration, said being a woman in athletics can be very alienating, even if you successfully make a career out of athletics.
“Up until this year I was the only woman and the only African American female on our staff,” Lyons said. “You don’t want to be seen as a token just because you’re a woman, and your employer had to fill this position because it’s a woman.”
Karia Montgomery, founder of Girls Club and senior sports management student, said that she founded the club to create a space where women in sports can relate to each other and make an impact. The club aims to create more awareness about the judgment surrounding women working in a sports environment.
As a senior with a sports management major, Montgomery said that she is very aware of her significance in a male-dominated field.
“It is such a male-dominated industry, which I’ve seen throughout my classes when there’s, like, three girls in my sport management classes,” Montgomery said. “So, it’s just being able to show that you have learned about sports and you have the right to be there.”
Lyons said that the inequality and alienating circumstances of being a woman in a career related to athletics is exactly why she endorses the creation of Girl’s Club.
“Our mission is to provide services and support and avenues and networking, ways to get into this industry,” Lyons said.
Megan Hughes, a sophomore and vice president of Girl’s Club, said that women’s athletics have always been underappreciated in comparison to men’s sports.
As a female athlete, Hughes said she feels frustrated seeing male sports getting significantly more funding than non-male sports and co-ed teams. For Hughes, this is why Girl’s Club is such an essential addition to campus.
“We want to give people a safe space to enjoy their hobby without any criticism. And on top of that, to network with females in sports, because working in the sports industry as a female is really tough,” Hughes said. “Girl’s Club is a platform for all girls wanting to make a statement in the ultimate boy’s club, sports!”
Girl’s Club can be contacted on their Instagram page, @girlsclubbw or at their bi-weekly meetings on Thursdays at 8 p.m. Over the course of the semester, the organization plans to host a variety of events, including a panel discussion from established women with careers in sports and a workshop discussing the imposter syndrome facing women in athletics.
