Allyson Felix has 11 Olympic medals, which makes her the most decorated American track and field athlete in history. But here's the thing—most people know her name because of what happened when she got pregnant. After nearly a decade with her sponsor Nike, they offered her a new contract at 70% less than her previous salary. And when she asked for one thing—protected time to recover from childbirth without performance penalties—they said they wouldn't set that precedent for all female athletes. So, Allyson sat in her daughter's NICU room, watched her tiny baby fighting to come home, and decided to risk everything by going public. In this second episode of our Women of Consequence series, Kelly talks with Allyson about integrity, knowing your worth, and understanding that sometimes you speak up not for yourself but so the next woman doesn't have to fight the same battle.

This episode has been made possible by a grant from Ingeborg Initiatives, a social impact platform dedicated to improving maternal health and making it easier to raise a family. To learn more, please visit: ⁠https://www.ingeborginitiatives.com⁠

Link to Allyson's New York Times article.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/opinion/allyson-felix-pregnancy-nike.html

Check out our episode with Linda Villarosa which Kelly mentions in this podcast.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-deep-with-linda-villarosa-on-being-seen/id1532951390?i=1000633982048

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Deep Dive with Allyson Felix on Speaking Up