The Call Up: New Platform from The GIST Helping Women Build Careers in Sports and Tackle Industry Challenges
Founded on the principle of leveling the playing field for underserved sports fans, women-led, inclusive sports media brand The GIST is taking that mission another step forward with the rollout of its new platform, The Call Up. The GIST has spent years making sports more accessible for all fans. The Call Up builds on that goal by opening more doors for the women who want to work in sports and shaping the future of the industry.
Today, women hold just 34% of CEO roles in sports, bottlenecked by pay disparities, cultural pressures and unequal access to networks and mentors. In fact, 62% of women working in sports identify salary and pay discrepancies as a key barrier to entry, while nearly 30% say they’ve felt excluded from key meetings or decision-making processes driven by pressure to conform to a male-dominated culture. Those gaps are the impetus behind The GIST’s newest platform and sports podcast.
The Call Up is designed to help women at every career stage find their next play in the sports industry. A revamp of The GIST’s women’s sports business newsletter, The Call Up brings together the insights, opportunities, connections and resources women need to break in, build lasting careers and help shape the industry’s future.
“Getting more women into sports is a conversation we hear all the time. But too often, it stops at getting women on the field, not into the rooms where decisions are made,” says Jacie deHoop, co-founder at The GIST. “The Call Up aims to change that narrative by not only showing them just how many opportunities exist beyond the field, but exposing them to the powerhouse women already building, leading and shaping this industry.”
From finding a first opportunity to opening doors for others, the right next play looks different for everyone. For someone hoping to work in sports, it might be an internship or discovering a career path they didn’t know existed. For a woman already in the industry, it could mean building a new skill, expanding her network or pursuing a leadership role. And for someone in a position to hire, mentor or lead, it might be helping another woman get her start.
With a free dedicated twice-weekly newsletter, website and social accounts across Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn, The Call Up will offer sports industry news and insights, career explainers, jobs and internships, and opportunities for networking, mentorship and professional development.
Fans of The Call Up can also tune into the new podcast series, How I Got The Call Up, co-hosted by The GIST’s co-founders, Ellen Hyslop and Jacie deHoop. The podcast will feature candid conversations with women shaping the sports industry from different vantage points. And the starting lineup is stacked – guests will include:
- Kirby Porter, the Chief Brand Officer at Unrivaled
- Susie Piotrkowski, the VP of Women’s Sports Programming at ESPN
- Sarah Spain, beloved sports reporter and Content Director of iHeart Women’s Sports
- Leela Srinivasan, CEO of Parity
“There’s no single playbook for building a career in sports, and so much of what it takes to succeed is learned along the way,” says Ellen Hyslop, co-founder at The GIST. “We want The Call Up to be the guide we wish we had: a place that breaks down how the industry works, shares what people have learned getting there, and helps you figure out your next move.”
