Association for Women in Sports Media

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The Association for Women in Sports Media (AWSM) is an American volunteer-managed, 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1987 as a support network and advocacy group for women who work in sports writing, editing, broadcast and production, and public and media relations.^[1] The membership of more than 700 men and women includes professionals in the industry and students aspiring to sports media careers.^[2]

AWSM was formed in 1987 by four California sportswriters, Nancy Cooney, Susan Fornoff, Michele Himmelberg and Kristin Huckshorn—to create a strong network and advocacy group for the few women who were working at the time in sports media. Forty people attended AWSM's first annual convention in 1988 in Oakland, California.^{[citation needed]}

15 years prior to the creation of the Association for Women in Sports Media, the Title XI law was put into place. This law stated that discrimination would not be tolerated when it came to access and how women were treated whether playing a sport, or reporting on a sport.^{[citation needed]}