“I don’t want to break the glass ceiling, I want to build a new house,” said Jane McManus author of The Fast Track: Inside the Surging Business of Women’s Sports. We have all heard of the glass ceiling — a metaphorical invisible barrier to advancement that affects women. However, her statement reflects a desire to create entirely new systems and structures, ones where previous limitations for women simply do not exist.
McManus wrote the story of decades of highs, lows, and interconnected forces of success in women’s sports. In her book talk on Tuesday, March 25, she offered a compelling view into the multifaceted world of women’s sports, exploring the historical struggles, current surges, and persistent challenges.
I don’t want to break the glass ceiling. I want to build a new house.
Jane McManus
Born in 1971, a year before Title IX, McManus went from a relentless young girl to a seasoned sports journalist and current New York University professor. Her insight reveals that the progress of women’s sports is deeply intertwined with broader societal issues and systemic gender inequality.
McManus emphasized her desire for transparency when writing her book. “I wanted to be upfront about what’s happening,” she said. “Not just writing an inspirational story, but showing the reality about what’s happening in the business of covering women’s sports.”
The author highlighted systemic barriers women have faced in sports, detailing early restrictions, like those faced by Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon. Through these individual stories, McManus illustrates the deeply ingrained prejudice and cultural forces that have held women back historically.
The belief that women were too fragile to run or exert themselves for fear of damage to reproductive organs, discouraged women from sports, which led to game modifications and unnecessary regulations. For too long, the value of a woman was placed solely on her ability to reproduce and provide for men.
“We were a means to an end, not an end in and of itself,” she said. McManus stated that there is a threshold for femininity associated with sports. As if being a woman in a sport somehow makes you less feminine.
The author detailed her personal experience with the reluctance to cover women’s sports throughout her career. When she first started in the field, covering women in sports was not a wanted gig, and coverage was not platformed. McManus mentioned issues with funding, resources, and media that the industry faces constantly.
After starting ESPNW, a global brand dedicated to engaging and inspiring women through sports, McManus faced pushback. Most notably, there was a constant comparison between men’s and women’s sports markets. She discussed an overarching belief that if women weren’t generating as much revenue as the men, then they didn’t matter. To that, she countered, “Not every sports fan watches the NFL, just like not every sports fan watches women’s sports. But just because someone isn’t watching a sport doesn’t mean it’s not important.”
It’s not a women’s sports problem. It’s an economic model problem. That model hasn’t valued what women do.
Jane McManus
The data and facts do not lie. Women’s sports are growing, and the numbers prove it, McManus stated in a GOALS sports podcast. However, nothing is a given, and the progress in women’s sports must be safely guarded. She discussed taking the blame off of women’s sports and addressing the root of the problem: the economic model. “It’s not a women’s sports problem,” she said. “It’s an economic model problem. That model hasn’t valued what women do.”
Of course, it might be difficult to understand these discrepancies as a University of Connecticut student. McManus described UConn as the utopia of women’s sports. If one thing is for sure, there is no shortage of iconic women in sports here. From Brianna Stewart and Sue Bird to Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi, Rebecca Lobo, and Paige Bueckers, the list of legendary UConn women’s basketball players goes on. Players get consistent coverage, and students are invested in the team. But this is not the case for all women in sports.
“So often women have to be undeniable to get what they deserve,” McManus said, arguing that to get the same sponsorships or media attention as her male counterparts, a woman has to be the best of the best. So while UConn is a powerhouse for women’s sports, there are great female athletes everywhere who deserve to be platformed just as much as male athletes.
So often women have to be undeniable to get what they deserve.
Jane McManus
Through her talk, McManus offered an insightful look into the success, setbacks, and overarching story of women’s sports, encouraging young women to be relentless in the face of adversity and cultivate their own identities against societal limitations.