The NBA is “in” on gender equality, joining the ‘Lean In Together’ Campaign on gender equality at work and at home. Are you?
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The winningest coach in NCAA basketball history isn’t John Wooden, or Mike Krzyzewski. Google “Winningest Coach in NCAA Basketball history,” and you will get a slew of answers, all of them wrong. That’s because the winningest coach is not a man.
Former University of Tennessee Head Coach Pat Summitt tallied 1,098 wins in 38 years at the helm in Knoxville. Truth be told, had her struggle with Alzheimer’s disease not force her into retirement, she’d probably still be racking up wins, and most likely still go unnoticed outside of the hoop world.
Sports have long carried the stigma of a machismo driven, grunt yielding, caveman practice. But the NBA and Sheryl Sandberg are hoping to change all that while also providing leverage for gender equality.
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Sports have long carried the stigma of a machismo driven, grunt yielding, caveman practice. And yes, there are a lot of places that amplify this stereotype.
The NBA and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, however, are hoping to change all that while also providing leverage for gender equality. #LeanInTogether is a public awareness campaign focused on men and their role in gender equality.
The Lean In Together campaign is, of course, far bigger than the NBA. In yesterday’s New York Times, Sandberg and Wharton Professor Adam Grant, co-wrote a piece entitled “How Men Can Succeed in the Boardroom and in the Bedroom,” a great piece that explains how we all benefit from gender equality in many ways.
The key take-aways:
1. “Men may fear that as women do better, they will do worse. But the surprising truth is that equality is good for men, too. If men want to make their work teams successful, one of the best steps they can take is to bring on more women.”
2. “If that isn’t exciting enough, try this: Couples who share chores equally have more sex.”
3. “Stepping up as a father also benefits men. Caring for children can make men more patient, empathetic and flexible and lower their rates of substance abuse.” And “children of involved fathers are healthier, happier and less likely to have behavioral problems. They are also more likely to succeed in school and, later, in their careers.”
4. “The flip side is true, too — sons reap rewards when their mothers have meaningful roles at work.”
5. “When children see their mothers pursuing careers and their fathers doing housework, they’re more likely to carry gender equality forward to the next generation. And when we make headway toward gender equality, entire societies prosper.”
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Now the NBA is joining in the Lean In Together effort. As NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver, notes, “”The NBA is committed to creating a work environment that expects — and benefits from — gender equality.”
In for equality? We & @LeanInOrg are! Pass it on– Use #LeanInTogether & show us how: http://t.co/zIdt9CF6KF pic.twitter.com/FVAvGYJlTL
— NBA (@NBA) March 6, 2015
The NBA produced a PSA highlighting Sandberg’s campaign, “LeanInTogether,” featuring stars from both the NBA – including LeBron James and Steph Curry – and the WNBA – including Skylar Diggins and Sue Bird. The public service announcements will be aired during NBA games on major TV networks over the coming months.
NBA & @LeanInOrg celebrate men leaning in for equality! Pass it on & #LeanInTogether w/ us: http://t.co/zIdt9CF6KF https://t.co/8iSWfkKMwy — NBA (@NBA) March 6, 2015
“Men should not just be the center of the court,” said Sandberg, “but they should be the center of the fight for equality.”
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Pat Summitt’s recognition for career wins is not the only thing highlighting a slant towards men’s coaches. According to The Women’s Sports Foundation, head coaches for women’s teams receive an average salary of $850,500 while head coaches for men’s team average $1,783,100.
Outside of collegiate sports, the issues expand beyond equal wages, but also into executive placement.
According to the Center for American Progress, women hold almost 52 percent of all professional-level jobs. Yet, females make up only 14.6 percent of executive officers, 8.1 percent of top earners, and 4.6 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs.
It is not as if men are more qualified than women. Women earn almost 60 percent of undergraduate degrees and 60 percent of all master’s degrees. They earn 47 percent of all law degrees, and 48 percent of all medical degrees.
While the business world struggles with an equal playing field, sports, specifically the NBA has found a way to transcend these statistics. The head of the NBA’s Players Association is a woman, Michelle Roberts. The WNBA is one of only two professional sports leagues in the United States dedicated to woman. Over 40 percent of the NBA’s employees are women.
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Adding the star-power of the NBA to the campaign to foster awareness and further change is a positive step. It is indicative of the larger changes going on in our society. Indeed, the rest of society and the NBA is already starting to adapt to what the executive world has been slow to see.
#LeanInTogether is a public awareness campaign focused on men and their role in gender equality.
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“Equality is not just important for women, but its important for men,” Sandberg said. “Women are not fully accepted as leaders, and men aren’t fully accepted as supporters and caregivers.”
And change is happening. More dads are staying home; more moms are heading off to work. This is not a case of opposites day, but rather a steady evolution in the day-to-day workings of our society.
In June of last year, Boston College’s Center for Work and Family released its fifth annual study on working dads. Over the last 40 years, fathers have tripled childcare and housework. Since the Family Medical Leave Act was passed in 1993, offering paternity leave at the federal level, more and more dads are using it to do stereotypically “mom” jobs. In the Boston College study “more than 90% reported that they spent time caring for their new child and changing diapers, and more than 80% went food shopping, cleared the house and prepared meals.”
According to a new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau, the number of fathers who care at home with their children for any reason has nearly doubled since 1989, with over 2 million fathers who are home primarily to care for their family.
In the latest symbol of this shift, a community of dad bloggers has taken up the fight for gender equality and gender recognition not only at the work place, but at home as well. After prominent dad blogger, Oren Miller, lost his fight with cancer last weekend, a swell of momentum has swept through social media to convince Amazon USA to change its Amazon Mom membership program to Amazon Family.
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There’s an old saying that begins, “Behind every successful man there is a woman.” Much like the gender lines that continue to restrain our societal development, this line is out of date.
No longer does one need to stand in front of their partner to reach success. What we have to do is Lean In.
Google it.
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Photo Credit: YouTube/Screen Capture
The author thanks co-Editor Mike Kasdan for his assist on this piece.