National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) is a day that is celebrated in the United States every first week of February to honor the sporting achievements of girls and women, the impact of sports on girls and women’s lives, and the continued progress towards women’s equality in sports. Since the establishment of NGWSD in the year 1987, Congress of the United States has upheld this proclamation in the first week of February to recognize the success and achievement of girls and women in sports and in society. The National Girls and Women in Sports Day is celebrated in the United States with awards, events in the community and sports achievements of female athletes each year. Members of the National Girls & Women in Sports Day Coalition, including the Women’s Sports Foundation, organize events to celebrate NGWSD.
Annually, the National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) is a significant platform for public relations practitioners to create brand purpose-driven campaigns that promote the successes of female athletes and advocate for gender equity in sports to improve brand reputation. PR professionals leverage NGWSD to improve corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives by linking a brand with female empowerment, gender equity, health, and milestones achieved by women. The PR campaign during NGWSD enhances a brand’s reputation to its consumers, especially those interested in diversity and inclusion in sports. The campaign allows a brand to mark a particular day each year to recognize its commitment towards actualizing this promise to support women and girls through deeds and not mere rhetoric.
So, PR practitioners utilize this day to push stories about female athletes, female coaches and other female leaders in the industry through mainstream media, consequently amplifying their visibility for female sports that are sometimes poorly represented in the media. The campaign consists of press releases that echo statistics and inspiring success stories of individual and collaborative effort to bring attention to girls and sports. PR practitioners work with female athletes in order to harness their social influence and amplify their messages regarding female empowerment.
Furthermore, NGWS concept is also used as means to increase the organizations’ engagement online for the purpose of having the brand put out a show of support, almost immediately. The PR professionals create content that is intriguing in nature; videos, interviews, and infographics that allow them to demonstrate how far and how strong women have gotten in the sports industry. NGWSD advertising campaigns on social media create a collective front of supporters, also allowing the brand to interact to its consumers, sports personalities and women sports supporters. This concept is the perfect time for the organization to reveal their support for women sports organizations, leagues or non-profits and highlight the pledge to put their money where their mouth is. PR efforts also highlight how the usage of NGWS date is the perfect one to bring light and get national awareness of the issue in wage gap inequalities and other subjects regarding equality in sports and to approach or lobby with them for a change in certain policies or funds.
NGWSD helps organizations and businesses to form an inclusive culture and represent female talent in the organization who either play sports or actively engage in the organization’s discussions and activities. For brands and businesses, NGWSD is also a good starting point to put up PR campaigns that honor, celebrate, and create change for girls and women in the sports industry while aligning corporate support and community engagement initiatives. National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) is celebrated in February of every year and serves as a PR opportunity that highlight brand marketing, advocacy and storytelling in different media platforms for gender equality in sports. It is the day when sports organizations, brands, and other institutions recognize and celebrate female sports excellence, supporting the Title IX while creating brand loyalty through purpose driven marketing.
To conclude, the timing of NGWSD as a PR strategy shifts the perception of women in sports from a side character to a high-value, high-culture portrayal of women in sports.