University of Alabama alumni Delaney Galbraith is inspiring women to pursue a career in sports through the establishment of Girls Club.
The platform, which was originally produced as a podcast, has transformed into a multimedia brand that provides women with the opportunity to network themselves and connect through shared experiences.
Galbraith recognized the difficulty involved in locating experience within the industry, especially as a women in a male-dominated field.
“Sports is a boys club – that’s where Girls Club got its name from. It’s strictly because, you know, sports has its secrets and it seems like all the boys are cued into what the things are that we need to make it in this industry,” Galbraith said. “The girls are kind of left with, ‘Ok, what are my resources? Because nobody is telling me the industry’s secrets.’”
Galbraith was introduced to sports in early childhood by her grandfather, who was a diehard Pittsburgh Steelers fan. Raised in a multi-sport household, she originally envisioned herself working within the hockey community.
In her last year of college, the senior decided her entrepreneurial and authoritative mindset, as well as her intuition that a sports platform for women could reach an expansive audience, motivated her to create Girls Club.
“If you were to tell me a year ago that I would be doing this full time, it was a completely different version of me. My eyes were only on one thing, and that was to work for a hockey team after college,” Galbraith said. “Once I saw the success of [Girls Club] and how many women needed it, it kind of just went from there.”
Yet, the platform did not reach its level of success overnight, and Galbraith undertook several positions within the industry while running Girls Club simultaneously. In college, she was the head of staff and marketing with Alabama Hockey.
Immediately following graduation, Galbraith joined the Boston Bruins as a Foundation Assistant for the summer before undertaking the Community Relations Coordinator role with the Worcester Railers Hockey Club. It was through several encounters with gender-based ideals which she recognized the moderate progress that has been made in welcoming women into the sports industry.
“When I was working for hockey teams, there was a lot there where, you know, people underestimate you. They question why you’re there because you’re a woman and they’re like, “why do you want to work for a hockey team? It’s just a bunch of guys being guys?” Galbraith said.
“They can’t just believe women just because women say they want to do something and say they have this ambition … A lot of times, they just want to assume the worst in us to begin with and that’s where I really find that we just have to kind of bootstrap it ourselves and just come together as women.”
The growth of the platform and its social media posts – a symphony of popular culture trends and the latest sporting news – has acted as a point of entry for women looking for access to an all but inclusive community.
Callista Carrero, the Director of Brand Quality, can attest to the power of the platforms push for entertainment. It was the Girls Club TikTok and Instagram pages which led her to apply for her previous position as a digital content creator with the company.
“I liked that the content and stuff they posted was educational, but also fun, ’cause I feel like a lot of times sports can be over-complicated, and especially when men are trying to explain it,” Carrero said. “I liked that Girls Club wanted to make it a fun and welcoming environment for women to get into sports.”
Galbraith acknowledged the messages she receives from women who once interned for Girls Club and have found a position within the industry as heartwarming and encouraging.
Kylie Augis, who edits blogs posted to the Girls Club website, credits the platform for her introduction to a career in sports.
“I definitely learned immense time management skills and learned a lot more about AP style when editing my writer’s articles,” Augis said. “I am super thankful to Delaney, my writers, and Girls Club for the amazing opportunity to be a woman in sports and get one foot through the door.”