Wasserman Launches The Collective with $1 Mil for Women in Sports

Thayer Lavielle, Executive Vice President at The Collective. (Photo Credit: Thayer Lavielle, LinkedIn)

She can. She did. She will.

The powerful video encapsulating the new mission of “The Collective” speaks to women around the world. As Wasserman Media Group’s newest initiative to support the advancement of female athletes and entertainers, The Collective is an agency focused on change.

Wasserman unveiled the new initiative on July 13. The Collective is a new division of the company dedicated to women’s representation, and it formalizes the media mogul’s long-standing commitment to the cause.

“The Collective is being launched to raise the visibility of women in sports, entertainment, and culture,” reads the press release. The new division will deliver “unique strategy, insights, and ideas for talent, brands, and properties focused on empowering and speaking to women.”

Designed to be more than just a PR agency, the Collective will offer resources for female-focused initiatives, utilizing the full reach of Wasserman entities to support business and client campaigns.

“The Collective is the culmination of decades of successful work representing women and helping brands connect to women,” says Thayer Lavielle, Executive Vice President at The Collective. “We have both a responsibility and an opportunity to utilize our expertise and network to empower women. With the backing of all of Wasserman and Casey, The Collective aims to contribute to that goal while moving our industry forward.”

The Collective announcement comes in conjunction with another development from the Wasserman Foundation, the Wasserman family’s private foundation. Led by Casey Wasserman, who also serves as the Chairman and CEO of Wasserman Media Group, the Foundation has pledged $1 million to programs that support women’s advancement in sports.

Casey Wasserman, President and CEO, Wasserman Foundation (Photo Credit: Wasserman Foundation)

Among the Foundation’s grant recipients are WISE (Women in Sports and Events) and the City of Los Angeles’s Evolve Entertainment Fund. These two organizations serve to increase inclusion and diversity in the entertainment industry, with Evolve focusing specifically on the thriving creative industry in Los Angeles.

Through their work as the Wasserman Media Group and the Wasserman Foundation, the Wasserman family has established itself as a champion for women’s representation in the entertainment industry. Currently, Wasserman represents 56% of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team, 26 WNBA players, and “a number of women Olympians who have won a total of 37 gold medals since 2010.”

Megan Rapinoe, Abby Wambach, Mia Hamm, Katie Ledecky, and Simone Manuel are just a few of the leading ladies on Wasserman’s star-studded roster. Through PR representation and a commitment to equality — on and off the field — Wasserman helps its clients find and establish their platforms.

In the world of professional sports, talent is not always enough to get teams and players the recognition they deserve. Because the sports industry is so traditionally male-dominated, it can be difficult for female players to find pay, representation, and air time equal to those of their male counterparts.

The Collective represents an opportunity to change that. By serving as both an agency for talent and businesses, and as a resource network for female-focused campaigns, The Collective aims to level the playing field for all.

“They said a woman couldn’t keep up with the boys, or win as many games, or track as many viewers,” says the narrator of The Collective’s introductory video. “Then — she did.”

And she will continue to do so, with every step forward we take in the sports industry.

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Philanthropy Women covers funding for gender equity in all sectors of society. We want to significantly shift public discourse, particularly in philanthropy, toward increased action for gender equality. You can support our work and access unlimited and premium content with one of our subscriptions.

Author: Maggie May

Maggie May is a small business owner, author, and story-centric content strategist. A Maryland transplant by way of Florida, DC, Ireland, Philadelphia, and -- most recently -- Salt Lake City, she has a passion for finding stories and telling them the way they're meant to be told.

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