Angel City Football Club Transforms Women's Sports - and the Movement for Gender Equality
Issue 240 — September 4, 2023
Julie Urhman accepting Take The Lead’s Leading Company Award on behalf of Angel City at our August 26 Women’s Equality Day Power Up Concert and Conference in Los Angeles
Philosopher William James called sports “the moral equivalent of war.”
That’s an inherently patriarchal lens on sports. Everything in that framework is about power and power in turn is about war and fighting, with the assumption that someone has to win, someone has to lose, and there’s no in-between.
But today, women are changing the face of sports. We are transforming power in the world of sports, just as we are transforming the power paradigm in business and politics. See the 9 Leadership Power Tools to Advance Your Career for a deeper look at how I transform our thinking about power from oppressive power over to generative power TO, a framework in which there is no finite pie of the most important resources of intelligence, creativity and innovation.
Yet you have to know the rules of the game in order to break them. You must see beyond to a new way of being and doing, and ultimately create a new game. That’s what Angel City Football Club is doing.
In their sizzle reel, retired soccer great Abby Wambach says, “In order to change systems, you have to start over. And you have to rebuild it with something different.”
Julie Uhrman repeated several times in her remarks accepting Take The Lead’s Leading Company Award on behalf of Angel City at our August 26 Women’s Equality Day Power Up Concert and Conference in Los Angeles, that the club’s founders, who in addition to Uhrman include venture investor Kara Nortman, actor Natalie Portman, and an array of sports and entertainment boldfaced names, have been intentional from the start that they intended to disrupt the system and lead to equity and equality for women in sports.
Thanks to Vada Manager for suggesting we honor Angel City. It is the perfect Leading Company honoree for its groundbreaking vision, courage, and action to change the world for women in sports and the business of sports for women!
“We wanted to build an organization where mission and capital coexist,” she said.
The results in their first year?
Sold out matches of 22,000 fans at all their home games.
16,300 season ticket holders, which is more than three of the male professional teams in LA.
The largest sponsorship dollars of any team in women’s sports, over $50,000,000.
They are a perfect example of intentioning. I coined the word “Intentioning” to signify that intention is just a dream until it takes wing — Angel wings perhaps — with action.
Intentioning always starts with a bold vision and the courage to believe it can be done but it is ultimately gritty action that changes the world. Angel City is changing the world for women in sports and the business of sports for women. Their mission goes far beyond the obvious formation of a new club. It is intentionally funded by women, led by women, and documents that without a doubt women’s sports is an economic winner in the sports industry.
And Angel City is an incredible role model by encouraging girls and young women to participate in the sport and providing the means for them to do so in their home city of Los Angeles. Participating in sports teaches girls and women physical mastery, leadership skills, how to take risks, and win or lose with grace, and to get up and try again.
We might ask, why were women traditionally not encouraged to play sports on an equal basis with men? I remember Sarah Weddington, former Texas state legislator and the attorney who successfully argued Roe v. Wade telling me she loved playing basketball in high school, but in her school girls were only allowed to play half-court basketball. Why? There was a belief that the reproductive organs would fall out if women played full court. Sports were just too strenuous for their delicate physiques and of course, reproductive capacities were valued above all else.
But more importantly, physical strength in women was not only not valued, the lack of it was assumed to be the “natural” way of the world and rewarded by viewing the ideal woman as a delicate flower. Women’s sports were marginalized, underfunded, and often dismissed as less important or competitive than men’s sports.
The evolution of women’s sports serves as a compelling metaphor for the broader strides being made toward gender equality in society. Just as athletes break records, women are breaking through barriers that have historically restricted them in all domains, from politics to the workplace.
Legislation like Title IX in the United States, which prohibits gender discrimination in education including sports, enables women to participate in athletics on a more level — though not yet equal — playing field. This is analogous to laws that protect against gender discrimination in the workplace or that support maternity leave and equal pay.
The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT) has not only excelled athletically, winning four Women’s World Cup titles, but also advocated for equal pay. As co-captain of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team, Megan Rapinoe has been a vocal advocate for equal pay and LGBTQ+ rights. She was one of the leading figures in the USWNT’s lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation over gender discrimination and unequal pay.
Their fight for equal compensation compared to the men’s team has brought international attention to the gender pay gap, sparking broader conversations and actions about pay equity in various industries.
As a consequence, female athletes are securing bigger sponsorships and commanding larger audiences, just as women are ascending to higher positions in corporations and starting successful businesses. The media coverage of women’s sports, although still not on par with men’s, is growing, allowing female athletes to become role models, much like women leaders in other fields. The World Cup in Australia in August mesmerized even people like me who rarely read the sports pages.
With the U.S. Tennis Open going on as I write, I must mention Billie Jean King. A tennis legend, King is perhaps best known for her “Battle of the Sexes” match against Bobby Riggs in 1973, which she won. She used her platform to champion gender equality in sports, and she also founded the Women’s Tennis Association. Her advocacy helped secure more equal prize money and better conditions for female tennis players.
The most decorated gymnast in World Championship history, Simone Biles has used her platform to address issues like mental health and athlete abuse. By speaking openly about her own experiences and struggles, she has contributed to destigmatizing conversations around these topics, both within sports and in broader society. And her recent unparalleled 8th US Gymnastics championship demonstrated that it is possible and even valuable to step out to take care of one’s health then come back better than ever for having done so.
People like Billie Jean, Simone, and the founders of Angel City are not just excelling in their respective sports; they are leveraging their platforms to drive conversations and make real-world changes toward gender equality and social justice.
Got my Angel City hat now!
In both sports and society, every championship won or a glass ceiling shattered propels us closer to a society where men and women are truly equal in every sphere of life.
GLORIA FELDT is the Cofounder and President of Take The Lead, a motivational speaker, a global expert in women’s leadership development and DEI for individuals and companies that want to build gender balance. She is a bestselling author of five books, most recently Intentioning: Sex, Power, Pandemics, and How Women Will Take The Lead for (Everyone’s) Good. Honored as Forbes 50 Over 50, and Former President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, she is a frequent media commentator. Learn more at www.gloriafeldt.com and www.taketheleadwomen.com. Find her @GloriaFeldt on all social media.