Photo: Instagram/Alex Morgan
When being forced to choose between a family and their job, these women picked both and then paved the way for others to do the same.
Started from the bottom, now we’re here,
The Last Night’s Game Team
1. Leading the Arizona Wildcats to the 2021 National Championship Game was former WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association) player, head coach Adia Barnes. Barnes, who inspired women everywhere in her quest for her dream job, coaches alongside her husband and is a mom to two children. During halftime, she was not only giving a pep talk to her team but also pumping as she was still nursing her six-month-old daughter. Barnes shed light on the NCAA's rules that have stifled working moms. Coaches' children, such as Barnes' six-month-old daughter, counted against a team's limited traveling party numbers, which means she had to choose between her children and a member of her staff. MAKING IT HAPPEN
2. Mom was the word at the 2020 U.S. Open (tennis), with nine moms qualifying for the tournament. Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka and Tsvetana Pironkova made history as the first trio of mothers to reach the quarterfinals of the same Grand Slam. The WTA (Women's Tennis Association) has stepped up with new policies to support new moms (or expecting), including a new ranking policy and adjusting the dress code. Women on the tour will not be penalized or prohibited from wearing leggings or compression shorts without a skirt, dress or shorts over them at WTA tournaments. REAL HEROES WEAR LEGGINGS
3. We're seeing progress in women's sports in adopting maternity policies for their players. Before these policies were implemented, you had stars like Skylar Diggins-Smith, who played an entire WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) season while pregnant and didn't tell anyone. It was such a great season for her that she was named to the all-star team. After the birth of her son, she was criticized for taking two months off from the season due to postpartum depression. Because of players like Diggins-Smith, the new collective bargaining agreement features full salary on maternity leave, a childcare accommodation and new, progressive family planning benefits. CUT THE GAL SOME SLACK
4. Olympic track star Allyson Felix made an impact on the track, winning seven Olympic gold medals, but it's what she did off the track that has shaped her legacy. The NIKE-sponsored athlete took on the company, saying that she would be financially penalized for having a child per her contract. (Her daughter was born via emergency c-section in 2018). She was so fed up with their lack of support for female athletes that she left NIKE for Athleta. Felix isn't the only athlete worried about being dropped for having a child – it's a far too common practice. NIKE has since changed its policies, and it will not apply any performance-related reductions for 18 months if an athlete becomes pregnant. A FORCE FOR CHANGE
5. U.S. Women's National Soccer Team co-captain Alex Morgan was one of the few athletes okay with the delay in the Olympics because it gave her more time with her newborn baby. The co-captain isn't slowing down, signing with Tottenham Hotspur in England and then returning home to the Orlando Pride (NWSL – National Women's Soccer League). Players like Morgan will be able to utilize the new maternity policies put in place by FIFA (the governing body of international soccer). IT'S A START
