'Empowering Women: 'More Than A Vote' Highlights Female Leadership in 2024'

Nneka Ogwumike fearlessly champions women's rights, consistently taking a stand for equality. As a nine-time WNBA All-Star, she has spearheaded efforts to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement that better compensates WNBA players. She also played a pivotal role in the league's decision to dedicate its 2020 season to advancing social justice causes.

With access to reproductive healthcare at the forefront of the upcoming election cycle , the WNBPA president was ready once again to do just that.

LeBron James’ More Than A Vote initiative presented a new opportunity.

“I was

very honored and grateful that he thought to hand the torch off to me,” said Ogwumike, who was tapped by James this summer to assume leadership of the organization as it reconstituted itself around women’s issues and reproductive rights for the upcoming election. Founded four years ago in 2020, the group helped recruit over 40,000 poll workers nationwide.

“I’m excited… to

be able to have an infrastructure like More Than A Vote that made such a difference in the past and use it towards something that a lot of people were looking everywhere for answers for,” said

Ogwumike

.

Shifting focus to women’s reproductive rights

More Than A Vote’s 2024 coalition features a host of WNBA standouts alongside Ogwumike, including A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Brittney Griner and Chelsea Gray. But the decision to put the platform in the hands of these athletes goes far beyond star power or symbolism.

“They

have a perspective on this issue that is pretty unparalleled,” said Jess McIntosh, one of More Than A Vote’s campaign managers, citing legislative and legal threats to not only abortion but also IVF and birth control. “They’re playing for a lot of their reproductive years and the

loss of reproductive freedom means the loss of the ability to plan your own life, to have the career that you want [and] to play the game.”

Ogwumike believes that the deeply personal experiences she and other female athletes share make it even more crucial for them to speak out.

“We make money with our bodies,” said Ogwumike. “We’d be remiss if we didn’t use our privilege in our platform to be able to shed light on what it really means to have autonomy when it comes to being a woman in society… whether it’s your career or planning your life around your career.”

More Than A Vote already has a sizable social media following of its own — over 100,000 followers across all channels. But the organization relies on its athlete partners to further amplify key messaging. “When you’re talking about these players and their own channels, there’s very serious, organic reach,” said McIntosh.

This election cycle, the organization is gearing its digital content to not only encourage people to vote but to educate followers about what’s at stake in the 10 states where reproductive-related measures will be on the ballot this fall.

Taking action this election cycle 

While social and digital programming are vital components for spreading information, Ogwumike believes the most important work happens on the ground.

“As athletes, we learn so much through…engaging with our community,” said Ogwumike,

who, along with her sister, Chiney, volunteered to be a Harris County poll worker in 2020

and hopes to do so again this fall.

“What’s most gratifying about it all is that… we too are learning from the community we’re helping, and we’re a part of it.”

Additionally, Ogwumike will attend various ‘Get Out The Vote’ events in Georgia and Arizona. She also plans to extend invites to the other athletes in More Than A Vote’s 2024 coalition.

With voter registration deadlines already having passed in 14 states across the country, Ogwumike understands time is of the essence.

“I’m excited for what we’re going to get done in a short period of time,

but hey, we’ve had shorter.”

For more information about voting, please visit the

NBA Elections Hub

.