Woman are fighting for recognition and respect around the world. Sports helps spread goodwill and is a language that crosses borders or economic barriers. Adidas is moving to help women in sports even more, with the She Breaks Barriers initiative.

Leading into the holiday season, adidas has announced the She Breaks Barriers initiative. Adidas has a stated commitment to remove barriers in sport, and will use this women-focused initiative as an extension on the #creatorsunite movement.

According to the adidas press release,:

“this multi-faceted initiative is designed to inspire, enable and support the next generation of female athletes, creators and leaders.”

To launch the initiative, adidas premiered a She Breaks Barriers film, featuring narration and music from Pharrell. A Sunday Night Football spot on NBC made sure millions heard the message.

Candace Parker, WNBA champion, two-time WNBA MVP and two-time Olympic gold medalist stated in the piece:

“My goal in everything I do is to provide better opportunities for my daughter and girls her age both in sports and in life. Being a role model for young athletes motivates me each time I step onto the court. Having a partner like adidas, who is so committed to creating new opportunities for the next wave of young female athletes, is so powerful and I’m thrilled to be involved in this new initiative.”

Girls drop out of sports at a quicker rate than boys, and likely because women’s pro sports lack visibility. Being the only girl on a teenage boys team is beyond awkward for some, and parents have made headlines for all the wrong reasons just in an effort to keep a girl from feeling welcome on the field.

There is no place for that in Sports proper, though it is allowed far too much. With this movement, adidas seeks to help more girls and women feel respected and welcome on their respective fields of play. That confidence learned will extend to the courtroom for some future lawyer, after she makes the WNBA or NWSL.

The EY Women Athletes Business Network and ESPNW have a study showing that 94% of women executives played a sport and 52% played at the university level or higher.

This new ‘line of initiatives’ will focus on providing access, removing stereotypes, and addressing the inequality for female athletes at all levels and ages.

More than just talk, adidas will partner with the Global Sport Institute (GSI) at Arizona State University and host a series of 6 projects in New York and Los Angeles with the goal of removing barriers for women at the basic entry levels.

The program needs citizen responses to know what programs are needed, and hope for extended community through the #creatorsunite platform.

Eric Liedtke, adidas Group Executive Board Member and Head of Global Brands, said in the press release:

“We believe that through sport, we have the power to change lives. As a brand we want everyone to have equal access to sport. Unfortunately, research tell us girls today are 1.5x more likely than boys to drop out of sport. This is unacceptable as we know that sport builds confidence, ensuring that female athletes win on and off the field. We’re starting a new program that will inspire and enable girls to join and stay in sport. By removing barriers to sports we aim to help shape the next generation of female athletes and leaders. We’ll leverage our partners to find locally relevant solutions in our communities around the world. This is an exciting day for us as a brand.”

FanSided 250 Fansided250 Logo Where does your fandom rank? See 2019 Rankings

More information can be found at www.adidas.com/us/shebreaksbarriers.

Share your ideas tagged with #creatorsunite on social media.