Girl Up announced today that feminist and former NFL player Wade Davis is joining Girl Up as a Champion. The ex-pro athlete and gender equality advocate will support Girl Up’s work to shift perceptions of the value and power of girls worldwide by bringing more boys and men into important conversations that help promote gender equality in everyday life.
Wade is an empathetic advocate to help men investigate and understand that feminism benefits everyone, not just women. Wade is the NFL’s first LGBT inclusion consultant and currently consults for numerous professional sports leagues on issues at the intersection sexism, racism, and homophobia. His work to engage, educate, and help men understand what actions to take toward gender equality includes a partnership with TimesUpNOW, UN Women, the Ms. Foundation, Ebony Magazine, Planned Parenthood, and an upcoming partnership with Tarana Burke and #MeToo.
“There’s no reason for any young boy to not want to be a part of Girl Up, so we must be thoughtful when engaging young boys and make sure we talk with them — not at them. That’s why I’m so excited to add to Girl Up’s work as a Champion,” said Wade Davis of his new role as a Girl Up Champion.
Misconceptions around the word feminist have kept some men and boys from getting involved in Girl Up and the movement to promote gender equality; the idea that feminism is a girls-only movement is misleading.
“For girls, by girls doesn’t mean girls-only,” said Girl Up Co-Director Melissa Kilby. “There’s room for boys and men to join our movement, too,” Co-Executive Director Anna Blue added. “When girls rise, we all rise. We’re excited to work with Wade to engage men and boys in becoming advocates for gender equality.”
Girl Up is a leadership development initiative founded by the United Nations Foundation that works across a global community of partners to achieve gender equality worldwide.
To launch this exciting partnership, Wade tweeted about the collaboration and released a video announcement via social media.
About Wade Davis
Former NFL player Wade Davis is a thought leader, writer, public speaker, and educator on gender, race, and orientation equality. Wade is the NFL’s first LGBT inclusion consultant and currently consults for numerous professional sports leagues on issues at the intersection sexism, racism, and homophobia.
Beyond his work in sports, Wade currently consults for Netflix, Google, Viacom, and others to co-create transformative solutions to build inclusive corporate cultures and coaches senior executives to flex their leadership styles to meet the needs of and develop their entire employee population.
Understanding the importance of engaging men around gender equity and equality, Wade built a ‘Men’s Gender Equality Development’ leadership program that he launched with the United Nations and other organizations in 2018.
A former national surrogate for President Obama, Wade has been an Adjunct Professor at the NYU School of Professional Studies Tisch Institute for Sports Management, Media, and Business and has also served as an Adjunct Professor at the Rutgers University School of Public Affairs and Administration.
