September 11, 2024 • 32 mins
What if women led the sports world? Find out in our inspiring conversation with Jenn Nelson, the dynamic founder and CEO of We Belong Everywhere. Jenn takes us through her incredible journey from youth sports coach to fearless advocate for women's representation in sports leadership. We discuss the powerful mission behind her nonprofit organization and the critical need for women in decision-making roles to reshape the sports industry. Jenn shares personal insights into the barriers women face, like unconscious bias and the lack of mentorship, while painting a vivid picture of her vision for greater gender equity in sports leadership.
Ever wondered how menstrual and menopausal health impacts athletic performance? Jenn helps us uncover the often-ignored aspects of women's health in sports. We dive into the innovative programs designed to empower young girls and women by addressing societal biases and championing their well-being. The conversation highlights the need for better data and research specific to women in sports, as well as how sports organizations can step up to support female athletes and leaders. By investing in women's health, we pave the way for optimal performance and leadership in sports.
Lastly, we shine a spotlight on the power of advocacy and the inspirational leadership of trailblazers like Michelle Kang, owner of the Washington Spirit. Jenn talks about the monumental efforts and investments made to support elite female athletes, emphasizing the importance of understanding women's unique needs for peak performance. Learn how you can support We Belong Everywhere's mission to create equal opportunities in sports leadership and hear Jen's reflections on passion, persistence, and personal power. Plus, enjoy a fun rapid-fire segment where Jenn shares some lighthearted personal tidbits. Tune in and get inspired to champion women's empowerment in sports!
Website:
https://www.webelongeverywhere.org
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Medovia Menopause Podcast, your
trusted source forevidence-based, science-backed
information related to menopause.
Medovia is dedicated tochanging the narrative about
menopause by educating, raisingawareness and supporting women
in this stage of life, both athome and in the workplace.
(00:22):
Visit Medoviacom to learn more.
I'm one of your hosts, aprilHaberman, and I'm joined by Kim
Hart.
We're co-founders of Medovia,certified health coaches,
registered yoga teachers andmidlife mamas specializing in
menopause.
You're listening to anotherepisode of our podcast, where we
(00:44):
offer expert guidance for themost transformative stage of
life, bringing you realconversations, education and
resources to help you overcomechallenges and reach your full
potential through midlife.
Join us and our special guestseach episode as we bring vibrant
, fun and truthful conversationand let us help you have a
(01:08):
deeper understanding ofmenopause.
Hi everyone.
Today on the show we have JenNelson.
Jen is the founder and CEO ofwe Belong Everywhere, a
nonprofit organization dedicatedto empowering women in sports
leadership.
As a contributor to Forbescomand Sports Money, she provides
insightful analysis on thelatest trends in the sports
(01:30):
industry.
Jen is also the author ofWomen's Sports Update newsletter
, where she highlights keydevelopments in women's sports,
advocating for greatervisibility and equity.
We love that In this episode,we explored an important and yet
overlooked topic in both theworkplace and equity.
We love that In this episode,we explored an important and yet
overlooked topic in both theworkplace and sports.
We've talked about this beforethe impact of menstruation and
(01:53):
menopause but in this episode onwomen in sports, jen shared her
inspiration for starting weBelong Everywhere and how the
organization is breaking downbarriers that women face in
reaching leadership roles withinthe sports industry.
This is such an interestingepisode.
Let's dive in.
Hi Jen, welcome to the show, hiApril.
(02:15):
Thank you.
Yeah, we're excited to have youtoday.
This is a topic that we havenot talked about on the show
before and it's a reallyimportant topic, so thank you
for being here.
I'm excited to talk aboutwomen's sports.
Just before we came on torecord, we were just saying what
an important time in women'ssports and we're going to unpack
(02:40):
what you do and why you do it,and that might actually be a
great place to start is to diveright in and have you tell us
why you started.
We Belong Everywhere.
What?
Where did that come from?
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Yeah, I mean that's.
That's a great question.
I appreciate you asking andit's kind of a loaded question
for me.
It's very personal and you knowI can share a bit about my
background in sports.
So I actually I've coachedyouth sports at the club soccer
level for a cumulative about 10years and I grew up, you know,
(03:19):
as an athlete in various sportssoccer, track, softball,
basketball so sports has alwaysbeen an integral part of my life
, as far as you know, justdeveloping a lot of the tools
and the different aspects of mylife that have helped me really
push forward and gain successand traction in a whole bunch of
(03:44):
different areas, from personalto professional.
But the founding of we BelongEverywhere really, I think
originates with the title ofwhat it is.
We belong in this space, webelong everywhere.
You know, in my opinion, Ithink it's important that women
are a part of the decisionmaking process, a part of an
(04:09):
active representative group ofsports.
And you know it's importantthat we push and advocate for
women in leadership roles to bethe decision makers, to be a
part of that group of peoplethat are fundamentally,
fundamentally shaping sports,not just in women's sports but
in sports in general.
(04:30):
But you know.
Going back to my coaching sideof things, you know I've seen
firsthand just the impact thathaving women in roles that are,
you know, you know, fundamentalfor for young kids and for youth
, um, you know, as far as their,you know their development and
(04:52):
and their understanding of whatleadership is um, and and being
in head coaching roles, um, it's, it was a tremendous privilege
to be able to, um, you know, tospeak to that and to be an
example of what it means to be aleader to young girls and young
boys, and I think itfundamentally makes a difference
(05:14):
in their lives to have thatrepresentation and to be able to
see that, you know, they can bein those places.
As far as girls in sports andgirls growing up to understand
what leadership is and how theycan be a part of that.
And, on the same end, with boys, I actually I'm a mom of three
boys and it's important to methat they understand and see
(05:38):
that who I am as a woman makesno difference between, if you
know, their dad or me um in in aleadership role that we, we
both, have an impact and a sayand we're a part of the decision
process.
So transferring that intosports.
Um, you know that, thatfundamental, um point of you
(06:01):
know we belong in these spacesjust as much as anyone else.
I think that's really thekickstart.
You know the kick for why Istarted.
We Belong Everywhere.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
It's so good, and you know we've had conversations
prior to this podcast you and I,jen just about the fact that
you know girls younger girls maynot think about women in
leadership roles in sports, itmight not be top of mind, and so
(06:34):
having those role models isreally important.
Can you share with our audiencejust kind of a side note how
many women are in leadershiproles in your industry?
What does that percentage looklike now and what's your desire?
Where would you like to see it?
Speaker 2 (06:52):
That's a really great question.
You know, diving into theresearch, it's really not that
different from what you wouldsee in the corporate world or
broader society.
You know women in leadershiproles in sports.
You know they face some of thesimilar barriers, such as
unconscious bias, a shortage ofmentorship and sponsorships.
Women are steered into veryspecific roles and what we see
(07:17):
as far as the numbers is.
You know that data actually issomething that does need to be
expanded upon.
But what I have seen, you knowwhen you look at the women in
college coaching report cardfrom the NCAA institution, the
Tucker Center for Research ofGirls and Women in Sport, they
do amazing work as far as reportcards on women in leadership
(07:42):
within the women's sports sideof NCAA D1.
And what we see there as far asjust head coaching positions,
we see about 47.4% of headcoaching positions in the
women's side of NCAA.
I mean that's about the numberthat's so it's still less than
half, even on the women's sidefor just head coaching roles.
(08:04):
It's even worse for women ofcolor in those particular
positions where only 7% of womenof color lead NCAA women's
teams, and you don't even wantto talk about the men's side of
things where only 1%.
As a whole, you'll see women inhead coaching roles and that's
(08:26):
across all NCAA divisions one,two and three.
So just looking at that sectoralone, you can see that there's
a ton of work that needs to bedone as far as empowering and
bringing women up into theseleadership roles, and obviously
that stems from a lot ofdifferent points, from
(08:46):
recruitment to hiring practicesto, you know, really looking at
the gender and biases andstereotypes that women deal with
in leadership.
But, believe it or not, there'sa ton of work that needs to be
done as far as gathering moredata and research on women in
sports, across pro sports,across, you know, the university
(09:08):
level, and especially in youth.
It's difficult to find thenumbers on, you know, youth
sports in general, on wherewomen stand as far as leadership
goes.
But yeah, so there's, there'sdefinitely a lot of work to do
there.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Yeah, and so why don't you share with our
audience what specifically whatwe Belong Everywhere does to
help address some of thosebarriers?
What's your organization's sortof goals and objectives to help
change the landscape?
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Yeah.
So we really want to focus onthree specific programs.
So we have a program that'sdirected towards our youth,
called the Youth DiscoveryProgram.
We have a career path andleadership program that provides
women with access to networkingevents, leadership workshops,
internships, study abroadprograms, any opportunities that
(10:03):
can give them a leg up in thatpipeline towards leadership.
And then there's a thirdprogram that I'm actually super
excited about which we'll belaunching We'll be launching all
three of these programs withinQ1 of next year but a data and
research program.
So we really plan to collectdata from sports organizations
to identify challenges inrecruiting and career
(10:26):
progression and professionaldevelopment for women in
coaching, management, executiveroles, even board roles.
So we really wanna have adata-driven approach towards our
advocacy and programdevelopment, and that's
something that we're reallyexcited about because obviously
data doesn't lie.
So gathering that data andbeing able to say hey, across
(10:48):
these particular organizationsthis is what we see how can we
help you improve or how can wehelp women improve is going to
be fundamental to what we'redoing.
But expanding a bit more on theother programs that we have,
youth Discovery Program reallyfocuses on empowering, you know,
young girls, in particularthrough tailored mentorship
(11:09):
events, collaborations withlocal sports clubs and schools.
So the whole purpose of engagingwith our youth is really to hit
on the societal issues ofstereotypes and biases.
If we're going to empower andessentially change those biases
and stereotypes, well, we haveto talk to our youth and we have
(11:31):
to engage with them and showthem through example and share
leadership with them so thatthey can see that those pathways
are available to them.
They are very much, you know,empowered to be in those
particular areas, so that's veryimportant to us.
And then, you know, empoweredto be in those particular areas,
so that's very important to us.
And then, you know, we've gotengaging with women who are
(11:55):
currently looking for expansioninto sports leadership.
So we want to really connectwith them and create a community
among them to help them ontheir career path towards
leadership them to help them ontheir career path towards
leadership.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Yeah Well, I love your work with the youth.
Kim and I both have kidsthey're young adults now but I
know Kim and I both wereinvolved in some way or the
other in their sports careers.
I guess you could call it, yeah, careers Before college, yeah,
but it's super important and weall have a passion for youth.
Obviously, kim and I are in themenopause space and we work
(12:35):
with midlife women, reallymostly with women that are 30
plus years old, and you justmentioned that, your third
program that you have in place,that your third program that you
have in place and I'm wondering, as we're talking about
barriers, barriers to entryright and barriers to those
leadership roles, do you see ordo we know, coming back to this
(13:05):
lack of data piece, whether ornot menopause and menstruation
is one of those barriers.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Yeah, I would.
I mean, like you said, the dataneeds.
We need to improve on data, butthere's I mean there's a
massive discrepancy in healthrelated research on women in
sports, and that is, you know,that includes athletes and that
also includes, you know, yourleadership or your
administration, people workingwithin the sports industry.
If you're a woman, you're goingto, you're going to have, you
(13:29):
know, we're, we're all workingthrough our reproductive cycle
from, you know, day one.
So there's there's definitelydiscrepancies there with
research and and it's been shownthrough through history, you
know we've a lot of what we'veseen, as you know, men's health
data, health and wellness data,being transferred over to women
(13:51):
and it just not matching up, andthat's something that really
needs to be dealt with.
There's definite, definiteconsequences in the way that
that data is being analyzed andthere are specific challenges
that athletes are dealing with,their specific challenges.
That athletes are dealing withtheir specific challenges that
you know women later on in lifeare dealing with, and I do think
(14:14):
that you know all of that needsto be, it needs to be discussed
and it needs to be workedthrough If we on the athlete
side of things, if we want tosee better performance, then we
need to talk about menstruation.
We need to talk about thephysical discomfort that women
deal with irregular cycles,increased risk of injury through
hormonal fluctuations, whicheven non-athletes deal with, and
(14:37):
it's difficult.
And then, you know, going intomenopause, the hormonal changes
and the mental health issuesthat come with it.
And we're looking at women inleadership and how are we
supporting them and what are wedoing to make sure that they
understand these things?
I think there's a ton of waythat sports organizations can
really support that, obviouslythrough what Medovia is doing
(15:00):
with education and resources,injury prevention programs for
athletes.
There's some really interestingresearch that recently came out
as far as women's hormonalbalances, I believe with the
menstrual cycle.
So there was a study done.
It's called the Menstrual Cyclein Sports Injuries, a systemic
(15:24):
review, and it actually talkedabout how the presence of female
athletes or, excuse me, thehormonal changes and cycles
within female athletes, howthere's there's injury risks at
certain points of the cycle, andyou know, when you're talking
about athletes and athleticperformance and and and
supporting women athletes,that's that's.
(15:46):
You know, we we got to take alook at that and really help
them and support them througheducation and resources?
And, and what about thetransition forward into
menopause?
And how are we um educating ourathletes um into that phase?
How are we educating ourleadership into that?
Um, so, yeah, I, I it's.
It's a very interesting subjectand it's something that I find
(16:08):
very fascinating, particularlyin sports.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
Yeah, and how do you influence those organizations
and educate those women in thesports space?
Because I know there's been alot of and I appreciate you
bringing in you know, real data,because you know sometimes you
can talk about those things butwithout having to back it up
with some real statistics.
But there's a lot ofinformation coming out on what
(16:32):
you should eat during variousphases of your cycle and, of
course, we talk about what youshould eat during menopause.
So I'm sure when you talk aboutthe cycles that you're that
you're referring to for womenand when they're more prone to
injury and when they're not, howdo we get this information out
there?
How do we get sportsorganizations to invest in
women's health and educating thewomen so that they can do their
(16:55):
, their best performance,because that's what everyone
wants in that case, right.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Yeah, no, that's a great question, and what comes
to mind for me is, I mean with,with any corporation, whether
it's a sports organization orfor profit, nonprofit, what's
going to drive momentum forwardis performance, and you want to
look at how your, your, your,your leaders are performing, how
(17:21):
your athletes are performing,and so I think there's obviously
a direct correlation betweenlooking at that data and making
(17:42):
sure that we're doing everythingwe can to help women perform
and help women, you know, dowhat they need to do at their
highest possible levels.
So I think taking that data on,you know, health and wellness,
especially within ourreproductive cycle, and
understanding how it relates towomen and their performance, I
think that's important.
I don't think that's a badthing.
I think it's it's, it'ssomething that will help all of
us push to our peak and and andand, push forward and and and
cross those boundaries thatmaybe we haven't been able to
(18:04):
cross, because something assimple, like you said, as
nutrition can make such a bigdifference on on cognitive
function, on on how you'refeeling that day, Um and and.
We can't just run away fromthose things and say, oh, we're
the same as men.
We can just walk through thingsI mean we have been doing that.
That's what we've done forever.
We're still doing it, Um.
(18:25):
But if we can improve and wecan help, can help, you know,
women in leadership.
We can help athletes, we canhelp women within any
organization improve how they'refeeling and how they're
performing, that's not a badthing at all and I think that
that's important to address.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Yeah, and we are different than men.
By the way, we're not the same,and you know you've heard it
said time and time again thatwe're not just smaller men.
Entire makeup is different.
So it is important to talkabout.
You know, as we're thinkingabout advocacy, and you know
(19:06):
what can we do to move theneedle forward, um, something
that that just came to mind wasadvocacy for our audience, or
from our audience, and actionsteps that they might be able to
take to help move the needle,push that needle forward as well
.
And you know, for the life of me, um, I can't remember.
(19:28):
I can't remember where it was,but I saw an article.
There was a woman that owned asports team, I believe, or maybe
she's building an arena.
Do you know what I'm talkingabout?
Yeah, can you speak to that alittle bit, because she is doing
some amazing things with thatproject and I think you know.
(19:51):
I remember hearing one of theSeattle Storm co-founders
recently.
She said someone asked well,how can we really move that
needle forward and ensure thatwomen's sports is supported?
And she just said come on,exactly, and I think what?
What this person's doingenables women to do that when
(20:15):
they're menstruating, forexample, if there's tampons and
pads in the bathrooms.
So can you speak to that alittle bit?
I'm so glad that you know whatI'm talking about.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
Yeah, actually, yeah, that's that's awesome that you
brought that up.
So, michelle Kang, she'sactually the owner of the
Washington Spirit.
She actually has a stake in acouple of European women's
soccer teams as well I can'tremember off the top of my head,
I think Leon is one but she'sactually invested.
Recently I think it was earlyAugust it came out that she
(20:47):
invested $50 million in a globalinitiative aimed specifically
at enhancing health andperformance of elite female
athletes, and that, inparticular, really excited me,
because we're not just talkingabout what can we eat better or
how can we weight train better.
We're talking about how ourbody works and how we can get
(21:08):
the most out of our body and howdo we prepare for what our body
is going through.
So I'm really excited for thatprogram and I think that she has
um, you know you you talk aboutleaders um, michelle Kang,
she's definitely one that'sleading the charge.
I don't, I don't know if youheard, but she got she just got
Michael Johnson into MagicJohnson.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
Yeah, Magic.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
Johnson she was.
I know she was just pulling hercharm and getting him into the
Washington Spirit Club, which isawesome and I'm really excited
for that.
But, yeah, more, more of that,more women and, you know,
leaders pushing forward on youknow, how can we really look at
(21:57):
what women's bodies are goingthrough and how can we get the
best out of our performance, outof our bodies, out of our you
know, our life, and I think it'simportant that we continue
those types of initiatives andI'm so excited to see what comes
of that program in particular.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
Yeah, me too.
So looking ahead at next stepsfor you and we Belong Everywhere
what's in the plan and what doyou hope to accomplish?
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Yeah, I mean the whole goal for us is we aim to
level the playing board.
We want to see equal opportunityand representation in sports
leadership.
So for us, that's going to beworking through our advocacy
programs, our youth program, ourprofessional development
program and, very much, our dataprogram, which I can't express
(22:45):
enough.
I'm so excited, for we want tosee women continue to rise.
We want to be able to showthrough data that we've helped
women push forward through ourprograms and into sports
leadership.
Essentially, I would love tobuild a pipeline.
I would love to see ideally Iwould love to see the women we
(23:06):
work with, the community wecreate, moving directly into
these particular roles orcreating their own roles really.
So that's really what's nextfor us.
We're in a phase right now ofreally developing our programs
and solidifying everything weneed to launch.
We will launch beginning of2025 as far as activating our
(23:31):
programs, but so excited forthis next year and the
networking that we'll do and thepartnerships that we'll gain
and, you know, ultimately justpushing that needle forward for
women in sports leadership.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
I have to ask because I'm just thinking about my
daughter when she was younger.
You know I'm picturing her withher little pigtails, girls, you
know.
If she were sitting in front ofyou, what would you say to her?
What advice would you give heras an aspiring little girl or
young woman looking atleadership role in sports?
(24:10):
What would you say to her?
Speaker 2 (24:12):
That is a great question.
So don't be afraid to takespace, don't be afraid to move
into the space that you feelpassionate about and take the
risks.
You know it's important that Ithink a lot.
You know it's evenstereotypical as women that we
take less risk than men, whichis probably good most of the
(24:34):
time.
But I think in this term, inthis context, you know, moving
into leadership, you've got totake some risks, you've got to
push your own needle forward andyou have to be OK with failing.
You have to be OK with you knowthe steps and all that comes
with getting to that point thatyou consider success.
(24:56):
And that for me comes a lotwith a growth mindset,
understanding that I don't knoweverything and I can learn and I
can move forward and I can growas I continue in leadership.
And I hope that all girls, allwomen, all boys, everyone really
(25:16):
understands that you don't haveto have it all at once, all the
answers, all the keys.
Take that action forward, takeyour space, take your risks and
just have that growth mindset.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
I love take your space.
You know, women don't alwaystend to do that and, um, I
always have to remember thatthere's there's space to take up
and it's okay, and you havepermission to do that.
That's so great.
How can our listeners supportand get or and or get involved
with?
We Belong Everywhere.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Great question.
So for now, really, um, really,spreading the word is important
.
Just just just having you know,just sharing what we're doing,
what we stand for.
And you know we're at a pointwhere we're just making those
(26:15):
partnerships and we're aligningwith other companies, other
organizations that reallyunderstand how necessary it is
to have, you know,representation of women in
leadership, so sharing the word.
And then also, you know we havea website up that anyone can go
to webelongeverywhereorg.
That shares a lot about ourprograms and what we're doing
and you can definitely contactus through there if you have any
questions or if you'reinterested in getting involved.
But you know, as we movetowards launching this next year
(26:40):
, you know, just keep us in mindand you know we hope to engage
our community and continue togrow.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
So we belong everywhereorg.
That's great.
That's a great place to findyou.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
Yeah, jen, you're.
You're a nonprofit, yes, and Iknow I was in development for
years and years and years, soI'll just say it's okay to say
it on the podcast.
I'm assuming that you'll takedonations as well, and financial
support if they need it.
So anyone that wants to supportthem financially, you can find
them on the website, because I'msure that that's an important
(27:15):
piece of keeping yourorganization going.
So, thank you, I appreciate it.
Yeah, absolutely.
Is there anything else youwould love to share with our
audience that we haven't talkedabout today?
Speaker 2 (27:35):
day, I think you know , just off the top of my head,
just you know, keep being.
I think it's important to justbe passionate about what you're
passionate about and just don'tI can't express it enough.
I said it take your space, bewho you are, you know.
I think we all kind of sharethat vision and philosophy of of
we're all doing the best we canand we're all passionate about,
(27:55):
you know, helping each otherout.
So, yeah, I mean in general,let's, let's do this, let's,
let's push forward and keep,keep the momentum going for for
us as women.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
Yeah, it's such a good reminder, though really.
I mean I know you said it, butit's just a good reminder for
everybody like you, we, you andyou.
Go after those things that youwant and don't let it take up
the space and don't let anyoneget in your way when you know
what it is there's nobody elselike you, so we need you.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Yeah, yeah, okay.
Well, we're going to have somefun.
We end all of our podcasts witha rapid fire, so we're just
going to ask you some funquestions.
So let's see, kim, do you wantto go first?
What do we have here today?
Speaker 3 (28:38):
Hey, yes, I like this question a lot.
What's your favorite comfortfood, Jen?
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Oh my gosh.
Okay, I have two ice cream andfries.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
I know it's terrible for you and I love it, but yeah,
I would too.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
Those are probably my two.
Well, you know, you canactually dip your fries in the
ice cream, so you can actuallyhave both All right.
How about domestic travel orinternational travel?
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Oh, my goodness.
Okay, so I've actually beeneverywhere, except for believe
it or not, I haven't been to theNortheast.
I haven't been to New York Cityyet, so I need to go there next
.
That's my next step.
Internationally, I would saythe UK is pretty amazing and
that's definitely a go to spot.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
Well, we might have to take you to the UK with our
colleagues across the country.
You can come to Women in WorkSummit with us to New York.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
We'll just pack a bag for you.
Let's do it.
Speaker 3 (29:40):
I'm ready.
Are you an early bird or anight owl?
Speaker 2 (29:44):
Oh my gosh.
Okay, so, since becoming a mom,there's no way I can be a night
owl.
I would love to, but it's not athing, it's.
It's definitely early for mefor the foreseeable future.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
That's when I changed to Jen, when I had my babies,
and it was like hey, I guess I'ma morning person.
Now, here we go, all right, andthe last question we ask
everyone is what piece of adviceor the best piece of advice
that you've ever received?
Speaker 2 (30:12):
Oh my gosh.
Okay, so that's a big one for me.
So when I was in college, takingEnglish two or something like
that, my professor which Ididn't really like too much
because I didn't feel she was agood motivator, but she did say
something to me that changed mylife moving forward, which it
was in reference to you know,what kind of autonomy, what kind
(30:36):
of power do we have in society?
And and basically my answer tothat prompt was well, there's
only so much I can do.
And she just looked at me andshe, she was dead straight,
looking in my eyes and she saysyou have all the power.
And she, she said it to me in away where, like, what are you
(30:58):
talking about?
You, you've got, you've got aton of power and and you have,
say, and you have, you know, theability to create change.
And and I was for from thatmoment on, I was like, okay, it
stuck with me and I really kindof shaped a lot of my decision
making after that and it was ahuge empowerment moment for me.
(31:20):
So, yeah, that's, that'sdefinitely it.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
Wow.
Wow I love those moments, right?
Do you remember her name, oh?
Speaker 2 (31:30):
my gosh, no moments, right?
Do you remember her name?
Speaker 3 (31:31):
Oh my gosh.
No, we should give her a shoutout, maybe.
Speaker 1 (31:33):
Yeah, and in this small world that we're in, I
love, I love that, and hopefullysomeday she'll know the impact
that she had on you, because I'msure that it impacted what
you're doing with.
We Belong Everywhere as well,so it has been a delight to have
you on the show.
We'll post all of yourinformation in show notes, but
(31:53):
until then, audience go find joyin the journey.
Thank you for listening to theMedovia menopause podcast.
If you enjoyed today's show,please give it a thumbs up.
Subscribe for future episodes.
Leave a review and share thisepisode with a friend.
Episodes.
Leave a review and share thisepisode with a friend.
(32:14):
There are more than 50 millionwomen in the US who are
navigating the menopausetransition.
The situation is compounded bythe presence of stigma, shame
and secrecy surroundingmenopause, posing significant
challenges and disruptions inwomen's personal and
professional spheres.
Medovia is out to change thenarrative.
Learn more at Medoviacom.
(32:36):
That's M-I-D-O-V-I-A dot com.
Welcome to the Medovia Menopause Podcast, your
trusted source forevidence-based, science-backed
information related to menopause.
Medovia is dedicated tochanging the narrative about
menopause by educating, raisingawareness and supporting women
in this stage of life, both athome and in the workplace.
(00:22):
Visit Medoviacom to learn more.
I'm one of your hosts, aprilHaberman, and I'm joined by Kim
Hart.
We're co-founders of Medovia,certified health coaches,
registered yoga teachers andmidlife mamas specializing in
menopause.
You're listening to anotherepisode of our podcast, where we
(00:44):
offer expert guidance for themost transformative stage of
life, bringing you realconversations, education and
resources to help you overcomechallenges and reach your full
potential through midlife.
Join us and our special guestseach episode as we bring vibrant
, fun and truthful conversationand let us help you have a
(01:08):
deeper understanding ofmenopause.
Hi everyone.
Today on the show we have JenNelson.
Jen is the founder and CEO ofwe Belong Everywhere, a
nonprofit organization dedicatedto empowering women in sports
leadership.
As a contributor to Forbescomand Sports Money, she provides
insightful analysis on thelatest trends in the sports
(01:30):
industry.
Jen is also the author ofWomen's Sports Update newsletter
, where she highlights keydevelopments in women's sports,
advocating for greatervisibility and equity.
We love that In this episode,we explored an important and yet
overlooked topic in both theworkplace and equity.
We love that In this episode,we explored an important and yet
overlooked topic in both theworkplace and sports.
We've talked about this beforethe impact of menstruation and
(01:53):
menopause but in this episode onwomen in sports, jen shared her
inspiration for starting weBelong Everywhere and how the
organization is breaking downbarriers that women face in
reaching leadership roles withinthe sports industry.
This is such an interestingepisode.
Let's dive in.
Hi Jen, welcome to the show, hiApril.
(02:15):
Thank you.
Yeah, we're excited to have youtoday.
This is a topic that we havenot talked about on the show
before and it's a reallyimportant topic, so thank you
for being here.
I'm excited to talk aboutwomen's sports.
Just before we came on torecord, we were just saying what
an important time in women'ssports and we're going to unpack
(02:40):
what you do and why you do it,and that might actually be a
great place to start is to diveright in and have you tell us
why you started.
We Belong Everywhere.
What?
Where did that come from?
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Yeah, I mean that's.
That's a great question.
I appreciate you asking andit's kind of a loaded question
for me.
It's very personal and you knowI can share a bit about my
background in sports.
So I actually I've coachedyouth sports at the club soccer
level for a cumulative about 10years and I grew up, you know,
(03:19):
as an athlete in various sportssoccer, track, softball,
basketball so sports has alwaysbeen an integral part of my life
, as far as you know, justdeveloping a lot of the tools
and the different aspects of mylife that have helped me really
push forward and gain successand traction in a whole bunch of
(03:44):
different areas, from personalto professional.
But the founding of we BelongEverywhere really, I think
originates with the title ofwhat it is.
We belong in this space, webelong everywhere.
You know, in my opinion, Ithink it's important that women
are a part of the decisionmaking process, a part of an
(04:09):
active representative group ofsports.
And you know it's importantthat we push and advocate for
women in leadership roles to bethe decision makers, to be a
part of that group of peoplethat are fundamentally,
fundamentally shaping sports,not just in women's sports but
in sports in general.
(04:30):
But you know.
Going back to my coaching sideof things, you know I've seen
firsthand just the impact thathaving women in roles that are,
you know, you know, fundamentalfor for young kids and for youth
, um, you know, as far as their,you know their development and
(04:52):
and their understanding of whatleadership is um, and and being
in head coaching roles, um, it's, it was a tremendous privilege
to be able to, um, you know, tospeak to that and to be an
example of what it means to be aleader to young girls and young
boys, and I think itfundamentally makes a difference
(05:14):
in their lives to have thatrepresentation and to be able to
see that, you know, they can bein those places.
As far as girls in sports andgirls growing up to understand
what leadership is and how theycan be a part of that.
And, on the same end, with boys, I actually I'm a mom of three
boys and it's important to methat they understand and see
(05:38):
that who I am as a woman makesno difference between, if you
know, their dad or me um in in aleadership role that we, we
both, have an impact and a sayand we're a part of the decision
process.
So transferring that intosports.
Um, you know that, thatfundamental, um point of you
(06:01):
know we belong in these spacesjust as much as anyone else.
I think that's really thekickstart.
You know the kick for why Istarted.
We Belong Everywhere.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
It's so good, and you know we've had conversations
prior to this podcast you and I,jen just about the fact that
you know girls younger girls maynot think about women in
leadership roles in sports, itmight not be top of mind, and so
(06:34):
having those role models isreally important.
Can you share with our audiencejust kind of a side note how
many women are in leadershiproles in your industry?
What does that percentage looklike now and what's your desire?
Where would you like to see it?
Speaker 2 (06:52):
That's a really great question.
You know, diving into theresearch, it's really not that
different from what you wouldsee in the corporate world or
broader society.
You know women in leadershiproles in sports.
You know they face some of thesimilar barriers, such as
unconscious bias, a shortage ofmentorship and sponsorships.
Women are steered into veryspecific roles and what we see
(07:17):
as far as the numbers is.
You know that data actually issomething that does need to be
expanded upon.
But what I have seen, you knowwhen you look at the women in
college coaching report cardfrom the NCAA institution, the
Tucker Center for Research ofGirls and Women in Sport, they
do amazing work as far as reportcards on women in leadership
(07:42):
within the women's sports sideof NCAA D1.
And what we see there as far asjust head coaching positions,
we see about 47.4% of headcoaching positions in the
women's side of NCAA.
I mean that's about the numberthat's so it's still less than
half, even on the women's sidefor just head coaching roles.
(08:04):
It's even worse for women ofcolor in those particular
positions where only 7% of womenof color lead NCAA women's
teams, and you don't even wantto talk about the men's side of
things where only 1%.
As a whole, you'll see women inhead coaching roles and that's
(08:26):
across all NCAA divisions one,two and three.
So just looking at that sectoralone, you can see that there's
a ton of work that needs to bedone as far as empowering and
bringing women up into theseleadership roles, and obviously
that stems from a lot ofdifferent points, from
(08:46):
recruitment to hiring practicesto, you know, really looking at
the gender and biases andstereotypes that women deal with
in leadership.
But, believe it or not, there'sa ton of work that needs to be
done as far as gathering moredata and research on women in
sports, across pro sports,across, you know, the university
(09:08):
level, and especially in youth.
It's difficult to find thenumbers on, you know, youth
sports in general, on wherewomen stand as far as leadership
goes.
But yeah, so there's, there'sdefinitely a lot of work to do
there.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Yeah, and so why don't you share with our
audience what specifically whatwe Belong Everywhere does to
help address some of thosebarriers?
What's your organization's sortof goals and objectives to help
change the landscape?
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Yeah.
So we really want to focus onthree specific programs.
So we have a program that'sdirected towards our youth,
called the Youth DiscoveryProgram.
We have a career path andleadership program that provides
women with access to networkingevents, leadership workshops,
internships, study abroadprograms, any opportunities that
(10:03):
can give them a leg up in thatpipeline towards leadership.
And then there's a thirdprogram that I'm actually super
excited about which we'll belaunching We'll be launching all
three of these programs withinQ1 of next year but a data and
research program.
So we really plan to collectdata from sports organizations
to identify challenges inrecruiting and career
(10:26):
progression and professionaldevelopment for women in
coaching, management, executiveroles, even board roles.
So we really wanna have adata-driven approach towards our
advocacy and programdevelopment, and that's
something that we're reallyexcited about because obviously
data doesn't lie.
So gathering that data andbeing able to say hey, across
(10:48):
these particular organizationsthis is what we see how can we
help you improve or how can wehelp women improve is going to
be fundamental to what we'redoing.
But expanding a bit more on theother programs that we have,
youth Discovery Program reallyfocuses on empowering, you know,
young girls, in particularthrough tailored mentorship
(11:09):
events, collaborations withlocal sports clubs and schools.
So the whole purpose of engagingwith our youth is really to hit
on the societal issues ofstereotypes and biases.
If we're going to empower andessentially change those biases
and stereotypes, well, we haveto talk to our youth and we have
(11:31):
to engage with them and showthem through example and share
leadership with them so thatthey can see that those pathways
are available to them.
They are very much, you know,empowered to be in those
particular areas, so that's veryimportant to us.
And then, you know, empoweredto be in those particular areas,
so that's very important to us.
And then, you know, we've gotengaging with women who are
(11:55):
currently looking for expansioninto sports leadership.
So we want to really connectwith them and create a community
among them to help them ontheir career path towards
leadership them to help them ontheir career path towards
leadership.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Yeah Well, I love your work with the youth.
Kim and I both have kidsthey're young adults now but I
know Kim and I both wereinvolved in some way or the
other in their sports careers.
I guess you could call it, yeah, careers Before college, yeah,
but it's super important and weall have a passion for youth.
Obviously, kim and I are in themenopause space and we work
(12:35):
with midlife women, reallymostly with women that are 30
plus years old, and you justmentioned that, your third
program that you have in place,that your third program that you
have in place and I'm wondering, as we're talking about
barriers, barriers to entryright and barriers to those
leadership roles, do you see ordo we know, coming back to this
(13:05):
lack of data piece, whether ornot menopause and menstruation
is one of those barriers.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Yeah, I would.
I mean, like you said, the dataneeds.
We need to improve on data, butthere's I mean there's a
massive discrepancy in healthrelated research on women in
sports, and that is, you know,that includes athletes and that
also includes, you know, yourleadership or your
administration, people workingwithin the sports industry.
If you're a woman, you're goingto, you're going to have, you
(13:29):
know, we're, we're all workingthrough our reproductive cycle
from, you know, day one.
So there's there's definitelydiscrepancies there with
research and and it's been shownthrough through history, you
know we've a lot of what we'veseen, as you know, men's health
data, health and wellness data,being transferred over to women
(13:51):
and it just not matching up, andthat's something that really
needs to be dealt with.
There's definite, definiteconsequences in the way that
that data is being analyzed andthere are specific challenges
that athletes are dealing with,their specific challenges.
That athletes are dealing withtheir specific challenges that
you know women later on in lifeare dealing with, and I do think
(14:14):
that you know all of that needsto be, it needs to be discussed
and it needs to be workedthrough If we on the athlete
side of things, if we want tosee better performance, then we
need to talk about menstruation.
We need to talk about thephysical discomfort that women
deal with irregular cycles,increased risk of injury through
hormonal fluctuations, whicheven non-athletes deal with, and
(14:37):
it's difficult.
And then, you know, going intomenopause, the hormonal changes
and the mental health issuesthat come with it.
And we're looking at women inleadership and how are we
supporting them and what are wedoing to make sure that they
understand these things?
I think there's a ton of waythat sports organizations can
really support that, obviouslythrough what Medovia is doing
(15:00):
with education and resources,injury prevention programs for
athletes.
There's some really interestingresearch that recently came out
as far as women's hormonalbalances, I believe with the
menstrual cycle.
So there was a study done.
It's called the Menstrual Cyclein Sports Injuries, a systemic
(15:24):
review, and it actually talkedabout how the presence of female
athletes or, excuse me, thehormonal changes and cycles
within female athletes, howthere's there's injury risks at
certain points of the cycle, andyou know, when you're talking
about athletes and athleticperformance and and and
supporting women athletes,that's that's.
(15:46):
You know, we we got to take alook at that and really help
them and support them througheducation and resources?
And, and what about thetransition forward into
menopause?
And how are we um educating ourathletes um into that phase?
How are we educating ourleadership into that?
Um, so, yeah, I, I it's.
It's a very interesting subjectand it's something that I find
(16:08):
very fascinating, particularlyin sports.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
Yeah, and how do you influence those organizations
and educate those women in thesports space?
Because I know there's been alot of and I appreciate you
bringing in you know, real data,because you know sometimes you
can talk about those things butwithout having to back it up
with some real statistics.
But there's a lot ofinformation coming out on what
(16:32):
you should eat during variousphases of your cycle and, of
course, we talk about what youshould eat during menopause.
So I'm sure when you talk aboutthe cycles that you're that
you're referring to for womenand when they're more prone to
injury and when they're not, howdo we get this information out
there?
How do we get sportsorganizations to invest in
women's health and educating thewomen so that they can do their
(16:55):
, their best performance,because that's what everyone
wants in that case, right.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Yeah, no, that's a great question, and what comes
to mind for me is, I mean with,with any corporation, whether
it's a sports organization orfor profit, nonprofit, what's
going to drive momentum forwardis performance, and you want to
look at how your, your, your,your leaders are performing, how
(17:21):
your athletes are performing,and so I think there's obviously
a direct correlation betweenlooking at that data and making
(17:42):
sure that we're doing everythingwe can to help women perform
and help women, you know, dowhat they need to do at their
highest possible levels.
So I think taking that data on,you know, health and wellness,
especially within ourreproductive cycle, and
understanding how it relates towomen and their performance, I
think that's important.
I don't think that's a badthing.
I think it's it's, it'ssomething that will help all of
us push to our peak and and andand, push forward and and and
cross those boundaries thatmaybe we haven't been able to
(18:04):
cross, because something assimple, like you said, as
nutrition can make such a bigdifference on on cognitive
function, on on how you'refeeling that day, Um and and.
We can't just run away fromthose things and say, oh, we're
the same as men.
We can just walk through thingsI mean we have been doing that.
That's what we've done forever.
We're still doing it, Um.
(18:25):
But if we can improve and wecan help, can help, you know,
women in leadership.
We can help athletes, we canhelp women within any
organization improve how they'refeeling and how they're
performing, that's not a badthing at all and I think that
that's important to address.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Yeah, and we are different than men.
By the way, we're not the same,and you know you've heard it
said time and time again thatwe're not just smaller men.
Entire makeup is different.
So it is important to talkabout.
You know, as we're thinkingabout advocacy, and you know
(19:06):
what can we do to move theneedle forward, um, something
that that just came to mind wasadvocacy for our audience, or
from our audience, and actionsteps that they might be able to
take to help move the needle,push that needle forward as well
.
And you know, for the life of me, um, I can't remember.
(19:28):
I can't remember where it was,but I saw an article.
There was a woman that owned asports team, I believe, or maybe
she's building an arena.
Do you know what I'm talkingabout?
Yeah, can you speak to that alittle bit, because she is doing
some amazing things with thatproject and I think you know.
(19:51):
I remember hearing one of theSeattle Storm co-founders
recently.
She said someone asked well,how can we really move that
needle forward and ensure thatwomen's sports is supported?
And she just said come on,exactly, and I think what?
What this person's doingenables women to do that when
(20:15):
they're menstruating, forexample, if there's tampons and
pads in the bathrooms.
So can you speak to that alittle bit?
I'm so glad that you know whatI'm talking about.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
Yeah, actually, yeah, that's that's awesome that you
brought that up.
So, michelle Kang, she'sactually the owner of the
Washington Spirit.
She actually has a stake in acouple of European women's
soccer teams as well I can'tremember off the top of my head,
I think Leon is one but she'sactually invested.
Recently I think it was earlyAugust it came out that she
(20:47):
invested $50 million in a globalinitiative aimed specifically
at enhancing health andperformance of elite female
athletes, and that, inparticular, really excited me,
because we're not just talkingabout what can we eat better or
how can we weight train better.
We're talking about how ourbody works and how we can get
(21:08):
the most out of our body and howdo we prepare for what our body
is going through.
So I'm really excited for thatprogram and I think that she has
um, you know you you talk aboutleaders um, michelle Kang,
she's definitely one that'sleading the charge.
I don't, I don't know if youheard, but she got she just got
Michael Johnson into MagicJohnson.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
Yeah, Magic.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
Johnson she was.
I know she was just pulling hercharm and getting him into the
Washington Spirit Club, which isawesome and I'm really excited
for that.
But, yeah, more, more of that,more women and, you know,
leaders pushing forward on youknow, how can we really look at
(21:57):
what women's bodies are goingthrough and how can we get the
best out of our performance, outof our bodies, out of our you
know, our life, and I think it'simportant that we continue
those types of initiatives andI'm so excited to see what comes
of that program in particular.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
Yeah, me too.
So looking ahead at next stepsfor you and we Belong Everywhere
what's in the plan and what doyou hope to accomplish?
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Yeah, I mean the whole goal for us is we aim to
level the playing board.
We want to see equal opportunityand representation in sports
leadership.
So for us, that's going to beworking through our advocacy
programs, our youth program, ourprofessional development
program and, very much, our dataprogram, which I can't express
(22:45):
enough.
I'm so excited, for we want tosee women continue to rise.
We want to be able to showthrough data that we've helped
women push forward through ourprograms and into sports
leadership.
Essentially, I would love tobuild a pipeline.
I would love to see ideally Iwould love to see the women we
(23:06):
work with, the community wecreate, moving directly into
these particular roles orcreating their own roles really.
So that's really what's nextfor us.
We're in a phase right now ofreally developing our programs
and solidifying everything weneed to launch.
We will launch beginning of2025 as far as activating our
(23:31):
programs, but so excited forthis next year and the
networking that we'll do and thepartnerships that we'll gain
and, you know, ultimately justpushing that needle forward for
women in sports leadership.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
I have to ask because I'm just thinking about my
daughter when she was younger.
You know I'm picturing her withher little pigtails, girls, you
know.
If she were sitting in front ofyou, what would you say to her?
What advice would you give heras an aspiring little girl or
young woman looking atleadership role in sports?
(24:10):
What would you say to her?
Speaker 2 (24:12):
That is a great question.
So don't be afraid to takespace, don't be afraid to move
into the space that you feelpassionate about and take the
risks.
You know it's important that Ithink a lot.
You know it's evenstereotypical as women that we
take less risk than men, whichis probably good most of the
(24:34):
time.
But I think in this term, inthis context, you know, moving
into leadership, you've got totake some risks, you've got to
push your own needle forward andyou have to be OK with failing.
You have to be OK with you knowthe steps and all that comes
with getting to that point thatyou consider success.
(24:56):
And that for me comes a lotwith a growth mindset,
understanding that I don't knoweverything and I can learn and I
can move forward and I can growas I continue in leadership.
And I hope that all girls, allwomen, all boys, everyone really
(25:16):
understands that you don't haveto have it all at once, all the
answers, all the keys.
Take that action forward, takeyour space, take your risks and
just have that growth mindset.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
I love take your space.
You know, women don't alwaystend to do that and, um, I
always have to remember thatthere's there's space to take up
and it's okay, and you havepermission to do that.
That's so great.
How can our listeners supportand get or and or get involved
with?
We Belong Everywhere.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Great question.
So for now, really, um, really,spreading the word is important
.
Just just just having you know,just sharing what we're doing,
what we stand for.
And you know we're at a pointwhere we're just making those
(26:15):
partnerships and we're aligningwith other companies, other
organizations that reallyunderstand how necessary it is
to have, you know,representation of women in
leadership, so sharing the word.
And then also, you know we havea website up that anyone can go
to webelongeverywhereorg.
That shares a lot about ourprograms and what we're doing
and you can definitely contactus through there if you have any
questions or if you'reinterested in getting involved.
But you know, as we movetowards launching this next year
(26:40):
, you know, just keep us in mindand you know we hope to engage
our community and continue togrow.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
So we belong everywhereorg.
That's great.
That's a great place to findyou.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
Yeah, jen, you're.
You're a nonprofit, yes, and Iknow I was in development for
years and years and years, soI'll just say it's okay to say
it on the podcast.
I'm assuming that you'll takedonations as well, and financial
support if they need it.
So anyone that wants to supportthem financially, you can find
them on the website, because I'msure that that's an important
(27:15):
piece of keeping yourorganization going.
So, thank you, I appreciate it.
Yeah, absolutely.
Is there anything else youwould love to share with our
audience that we haven't talkedabout today?
Speaker 2 (27:35):
day, I think you know , just off the top of my head,
just you know, keep being.
I think it's important to justbe passionate about what you're
passionate about and just don'tI can't express it enough.
I said it take your space, bewho you are, you know.
I think we all kind of sharethat vision and philosophy of of
we're all doing the best we canand we're all passionate about,
(27:55):
you know, helping each otherout.
So, yeah, I mean in general,let's, let's do this, let's,
let's push forward and keep,keep the momentum going for for
us as women.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
Yeah, it's such a good reminder, though really.
I mean I know you said it, butit's just a good reminder for
everybody like you, we, you andyou.
Go after those things that youwant and don't let it take up
the space and don't let anyoneget in your way when you know
what it is there's nobody elselike you, so we need you.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Yeah, yeah, okay.
Well, we're going to have somefun.
We end all of our podcasts witha rapid fire, so we're just
going to ask you some funquestions.
So let's see, kim, do you wantto go first?
What do we have here today?
Speaker 3 (28:38):
Hey, yes, I like this question a lot.
What's your favorite comfortfood, Jen?
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Oh my gosh.
Okay, I have two ice cream andfries.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
I know it's terrible for you and I love it, but yeah,
I would too.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
Those are probably my two.
Well, you know, you canactually dip your fries in the
ice cream, so you can actuallyhave both All right.
How about domestic travel orinternational travel?
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Oh, my goodness.
Okay, so I've actually beeneverywhere, except for believe
it or not, I haven't been to theNortheast.
I haven't been to New York Cityyet, so I need to go there next
.
That's my next step.
Internationally, I would saythe UK is pretty amazing and
that's definitely a go to spot.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
Well, we might have to take you to the UK with our
colleagues across the country.
You can come to Women in WorkSummit with us to New York.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
We'll just pack a bag for you.
Let's do it.
Speaker 3 (29:40):
I'm ready.
Are you an early bird or anight owl?
Speaker 2 (29:44):
Oh my gosh.
Okay, so, since becoming a mom,there's no way I can be a night
owl.
I would love to, but it's not athing, it's.
It's definitely early for mefor the foreseeable future.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
That's when I changed to Jen, when I had my babies,
and it was like hey, I guess I'ma morning person.
Now, here we go, all right, andthe last question we ask
everyone is what piece of adviceor the best piece of advice
that you've ever received?
Speaker 2 (30:12):
Oh my gosh.
Okay, so that's a big one for me.
So when I was in college, takingEnglish two or something like
that, my professor which Ididn't really like too much
because I didn't feel she was agood motivator, but she did say
something to me that changed mylife moving forward, which it
was in reference to you know,what kind of autonomy, what kind
(30:36):
of power do we have in society?
And and basically my answer tothat prompt was well, there's
only so much I can do.
And she just looked at me andshe, she was dead straight,
looking in my eyes and she saysyou have all the power.
And she, she said it to me in away where, like, what are you
(30:58):
talking about?
You, you've got, you've got aton of power and and you have,
say, and you have, you know, theability to create change.
And and I was for from thatmoment on, I was like, okay, it
stuck with me and I really kindof shaped a lot of my decision
making after that and it was ahuge empowerment moment for me.
(31:20):
So, yeah, that's, that'sdefinitely it.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
Wow.
Wow I love those moments, right?
Do you remember her name, oh?
Speaker 2 (31:30):
my gosh, no moments, right?
Do you remember her name?
Speaker 3 (31:31):
Oh my gosh.
No, we should give her a shoutout, maybe.
Speaker 1 (31:33):
Yeah, and in this small world that we're in, I
love, I love that, and hopefullysomeday she'll know the impact
that she had on you, because I'msure that it impacted what
you're doing with.
We Belong Everywhere as well,so it has been a delight to have
you on the show.
We'll post all of yourinformation in show notes, but
(31:53):
until then, audience go find joyin the journey.
Thank you for listening to theMedovia menopause podcast.
If you enjoyed today's show,please give it a thumbs up.
Subscribe for future episodes.
Leave a review and share thisepisode with a friend.
Episodes.
Leave a review and share thisepisode with a friend.
(32:14):
There are more than 50 millionwomen in the US who are
navigating the menopausetransition.
The situation is compounded bythe presence of stigma, shame
and secrecy surroundingmenopause, posing significant
challenges and disruptions inwomen's personal and
professional spheres.
Medovia is out to change thenarrative.
Learn more at Medoviacom.
(32:36):
That's M-I-D-O-V-I-A dot com.
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