Episode 12: Empowering women and girls to compete at the highest level with Odessa Jenkins
Odessa Jenkins is the Co-Founder & President of the Women’s National Football Conference and President at Emtrain, a workplace technology company that maps inclusive culture to behaviors in order to influence organizational change. As a disrupter in sports, Jenkins is paving the way to create inclusion and equity in sports for women and girls. She is striving to give them the opportunity to perform at the highest level… in all of their pursuits.
In this episode, Odessa and I discuss the WNFC’s streaming deal with Vyre Network, which will bring 100% of the league’s games directly to fans AND generate substantial sponsorship revenue for the league… their apparel deals with Adidas and Riddell which are elevating the image of women as pro football players to new heights… She shares that only 7% of women’s professional sports are being televised… and just how she believes we can change that. And Finally, she talks about her WHY, her personal mantras… and the importance of using the time you have to maximize your impact.
Leveling The Playing Field
Odessa’s ‘why’ is simple: to create inclusion and equity for girls and women in sports.. and, empower them to compete at the highest level, personally and professionally.
And so began the Women’s National Football Conference.
“It was important for me to create a platform that was the most prestigious level of the sport. And then demand all the same things of women and girls and football that are offered and demanded of men and boys and football.”
Walking Authentically
When Odessa says she’s in on something, she means it. And not just in - she’s all in.
“I’m all in. I’m ALL in or I’m not in.”
That conviction and enthusiasm is rooted in her own level of comfortability within herself.
“I walk authentically, and I know that's a super popular word now, to be your authentic self. Everyone has their superpower, right? Their special thing, their brilliance. Everyone, we are all brilliant in a unique way. And one of my gifts, my brilliance, was that I am very comfortable with who I am. And always have been. I walk strongly, who I am and what I want to do. And that gift, that ability, has really driven me to only do things that align with who I am, what I care about, my core purpose, my why.”
Taking Off The Mask
Nothing Odessa does is by accident. Her approach to life and work is entirely purposeful.
“It is very intentional. That’s how I want to spend my time. It is living life without a mask.”
And so it is that authentic example that Odessa wants to be for other women coming after her. After all: to be her, you have to see her, right?
“I think it's really important that I am a representation so that when people look, they see me just being me - you don't have to copy who I am and what I do. The best thing that we can do for ‘her’ that's coming after us is to be ourselves up here.”
Changing The Game
Odessa and the WNFC are changing the game of women’s tackle football one revolutionary partnership at a time.
By teaming with streaming service Vyre Network to broadcast games and content, signing with Adidas to be the official uniform and accessory provider and joining forces with Riddell to be the helmet of choice for the majority of players - the WNFC is proving that they are a valuable brand and asset.
These partnerships help legitimize the sport and the league, which in turns helps build a pipeline of future players.
“When girls watch an NFL game they think ‘I want to go do that. I want to be a warrior, I want to be a gladiator.’ And when they come looking for it they want it to look like the standard that was set by what they just watched on TV. If we can give the world nothing else, if we can give the future of sports nothing else, we can give ‘her’ that. We're building out a pipeline and a forum for women and girls in football. Adidas is helping with that, Riddell is helping with that. All we're doing is making it pristine and creating opportunities and frankly, bringing dollars, eyeballs and cameras to it.”
Putting The ‘We’ Before The ‘I’
One of the lessons Odessa strives to share through her work at Emtrain is operating with a ‘we disposition’ instead of an ‘I disposition.’ To put it in sports terms: there is no ‘I’ in team.
“We have to show companies and people how to be inclusive and that means that I'm going to be more ‘we’ than ‘I.’
I'm going to know how to operate with a ‘we disposition,’ versus an ‘I disposition.’
I'm going to learn how to work empathetically and move empathetically, even though I am different. So while I celebrate my differences - my ‘I’ - I'm going to know how to exist in the ‘we.’
And that sort of social capital makes you want to go to work, makes you want to show up, makes you feel like you belong, they make you valued.”
Emtrain focuses on respect, inclusion and ethics in the workplace, providing educational and developmental tools to build those skills - skills that also apply to the football field and beyond.
The Best is Yet To Come
As the WNFC enters its third season in 2022, Odessa continues to strive for more for the league.
One goal in her sights: to make The Nine Cup (WNFC championship) the “highest sponsored, biggest event for women and girls in the history of the world.”
“We want to create the biggest event ever for women in football. We want to see that more people than have ever showed up before, showed up for women and girls and football. And we want to see that it was an event that changed the way people see women and girls and football.”
Just Say Yes
Odessa truly believes the WNFC has what it takes to not only survive, but to thrive. And all it needs is a few people to say yes.
“It's diverse. It's got the eyeballs, now it's global eyeballs. It's new, it's fresh. It can tell any brand story you want it to tell.
Say yes to this thing. Don't just look for what you've already done. Go buy some potential.”
Thank you, Odessa, for your incredible thoughts!
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