Manitoba Moose, Fit Communications encourage gender equity in sport
BY: SIERRA SANDERS
March proved to be a monumental month for women in sport, as several initiatives and programs across Winnipeg are now pushing for an equitable future in the industry.
The Manitoba Moose hosted its inaugural Women in Sport Job Shadow Program earlier this month. The program, created for women interested in a career in sport, offers a hands-on introduction to the different roles in the industry.
Andrea Cove, a Business Administration student at Red River College Polytechnic, was one of the six participants selected for the first run of the program.
“I think seeing behind the scenes of every department was really cool,” said Cove. “It’s stuff they don’t really show.”
During the two-day program, participants toured the offices of True North Sports & Entertainment, experienced the different roles of a gameday production, and networked with employees.
Cove said the sports industry can be intimidating because it is male-dominated but being shown how many women are involved made it less scary.
“For [the Manitoba Moose] to have the program that shows it’s not as scary as it seems but also says ‘look how many great women we have in all of our departments,’ is great,” Cove said. “It’s really nice to see that it’s not as male-dominated as everyone might think.”
Fit Communications, an agency founded by women, also encourages an equitable future in sport. The agency not only involves girls in sports but empowers them to not give up on sports.
Andrea Katz, co-founder of Fit Communications, said she and her partner saw a gap in the province for getting girls involved in sports.
Katz said organizations shouldn’t focus on numbers, but on how they can get girls back into sport and keep them involved, especially after the pandemic.
“If they just focus on getting that number up, then we’re going to lose out on those girls getting back into sport,” said Katz. “It’s important to understand what matters for those girls to get back in sport. What’s important for a girl is not the same thing as what’s important to boys.”
Katz said she wants to see the ratio of girls to boys be equal in amateur sports.
“There are just as many girls as there are boys playing every sport,” said Katz. “We are seeing that at an Olympic level, but we’re not seeing it at that grassroots amateur level.”
Despite these initiatives and programs, many understand that more needs to be done year-round to create change.
The Manitoba Moose anticipate hosting their second annual Women in Sport Job Shadow Program next March.
