Former Levi's president Jennifer Sey launches XX-XY Athletics to protect women's sports

It is ironic that this Women's History Month, the government is rescinding a historic milestone in women's history: Title IX, which prohibited discrimination based on sex in federally funded educational programs and activities. .

The Department of Education is proposing rule changes that would extend Title IX protections to transgender athletes and allow biological males who identify as female to compete in women's and women's sports.

Protecting women in sports is the cause of outspoken former Levi's global brand president and two-time nominee Jennifer Say. forbesI care passionately about the Most Influential CMO List.

That's why she launched her sportswear brand XX-XY Athletics to protect women and girls from being forced to compete or share a locker room with transgender athletes, a 69% majority. , it's not surprising that people are investing their own money. According to a Gallup poll, Americans' approval rating.

“All my life, I have risked my reputation, my job, and my social standing to stand up for children, women, and free speech. It is the culmination of everything I have done in my life,” Sei said in a statement.

“World-class brands communicate culture. At this time, no other brand offers consumers the opportunity to consider this topic. We are committed to our mission of speaking the truth and standing up for women's sports. “I am,” she continued.

support a cause

Say is a champion for women and free speech to help XX-XY Athletics make an upset win in the $158 billion athletic wear market, which is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7% through 2027, according to McKinsey. We have hired a world-class team of

Former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Riley Gaines and teammate Paula Scanlan also joined the movement. Both athletes have been outspoken advocates for preserving the purity of women's sports in testimony before Congress, and Gaines spearheaded a class-action lawsuit against the NCAA and the University of Georgia over their transgender policies.

The XX-XY team also includes:

• Chloe Cole spoke on Capitol Hill about the harm that “gender-affirming” care does to children, including herself.
• In a lawsuit against her former employer, Dr. Tavia Lee claims she was fired from her tenured faculty position because she did not adhere to the university's Critical Theory-based “race and gender ideology.” Rather, she taught Dr. Martin Luther King's philosophy that people should be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin.
• Author Adam Coleman From black victims to black victors, Founder of Wrong Speak Publishing, Substack blogger, contributor to the New York Post, Newsweek, The Federalist, and more, advocates for free speech and supporting “those who don't feel heard.” doing.

Sei told me the following. “They are all people who believe in freedom of expression and have the courage to express themselves. Unlike some brands in the so-called 'parallel' or 'free' economy, we believe that XX-XY We want it to be part of the normal economy. We are not explicitly anti-woke, but we are pro-truth.

“Unlike one of our nation's highest court justices, you don't have to be a biologist to know that girls and women have different physical capabilities than boys and men. We need to keep women's sports women's sports. That's it. It's that simple,” she continued.

accidental entrepreneur

After graduating from college, Say worked for several years in the advertising industry at Banana Republic and Foote, Cone & Belding before joining Levi's in 1999 as a senior marketing manager. She rose through the ranks at Levi's, where she reached the position of global brand her CMO in 2016 and was promoted to global brand president in 2020.

During her time in senior management, Levi's revenue increased from $4.6 billion in 2016 to $5.8 billion, and there is even talk of her replacing CEO Chip Berg when he steps down. there were.

Having been dedicated to Levi's for about 23 years, she loved them and the brand. It was a happy place for her, but then the new coronavirus hit.

After months of seeing the negative effects of school closures on children and mounting scientific evidence that the coronavirus posed little threat to children, the mother of four He spoke out against local policies in California and took his message nationally on Fox News' “The Ingraham Angle.” Sei described it as “the kiss of death.”

Her position at Levi's was never mentioned in that interview, but regardless, it sparked an immediate backlash. “The feedback was, 'There's nothing wrong with what you said. There's something wrong with the fact that you said it to her,'” Sey explained.

Levi's was no longer a happy place for her and she retired in March 2022. She chronicled her rise and fall at Levi's in her book. Levi's Unbuttoned: The woke mob took my job, but gave me my voice..

Say's outspoken advocacy for children during the coronavirus pandemic is nothing new for her. In her first book, the 1986 USA Gymnastics champion spoke out about the brutality inflicted on girls in the sport. chalk upproduced a 2020 documentary film. Athlete Awhich exposed Larry Nassar's crimes and widespread abuse in the Olympic movement, won an Emmy Award.

Considering all this and his stellar business record at Levi's, Sei thought he would have no problem finding a new job, but that didn't happen.

“I thought I would one day work for an established organization,” she said. “I wanted to do nothing more than work for a great brand and a great company and leave that brand and business in better shape than when I found it. I don't necessarily want to be a founder. did.”

But that's where she landed. “This idea has been in my head for a while and it seems like this is the culmination of everything I've done in life so far. It's about combining my strong business experience in building and enhancing my business to create something truly my own.”

Now 55 years old, Say is becoming a business executive, applying the skills and talents he honed in corporate America to entrepreneurial ventures. Now she will be put to a real test.

Just having a cause is not enough

Even though Sei and her support team feel passionately about XX-XY Athletics' mission, that's not enough for the company to compete against athletic wear champions. But Sei is no naive and knows what it takes to get a brand off the ground with great products.

“Our products are unique and relevant. If we can create really sophisticated and powerful marketing content, we can attract people,” she said.

Today, the company unveiled its first cotton collection of shirts and graphic T-shirts, as well as casual wear, including joggers and fleece hoodies. Since its inception, XX-XY has offered both men's and women's clothing.

A second collection of activewear made from high-performance materials will be released in June, with another collection scheduled for the holiday season in late October, “with a little more sparkle and more luxurious materials.” She says it will be.

Prices are comparable to other premium brands. For example, T-shirts sell for around $40 and leggings for around $100. Direct-to-consumer e-commerce is the company's path to market, but she's not ruling out wholesale altogether.

But she knows the big game and the hurdles it can bring, so that's not part of the plan, but if the message of XX-XY spreads, many independent specialty stores will You can predict that women will come knocking on the door to help fight and save their sport.

“When I looked at all the sports brands on the market, they made a big deal about celebrating women, but I didn't see one that said, 'We need to protect women's sports,'” says Say. Stated.

“No single brand is doing it. We will continue to create the finest, world-class women's and men's sports apparel. And we will protect women's sports. “I believe it will also resonate with men who are passionate about protecting their daughters,” she continued.

Brand cultural connection

Say believes brands have a role to play in culture, and even a responsibility to do so. “Brands are cultural tools, influencing and informing ideas in the same way that movies, art, and music do. Look at Nike
NKE
“It influenced the running culture,” she said.

“Brands have an opportunity to not only follow the culture, but also lead and inform the culture. And I feel like almost everyone already agrees with us, but they don't say it. So if it's acceptable and cool to stand up and say the truth about the obvious, then that's what I want to do,” she continued.

Say and her team believe in fighting for the cause of protecting women in sports and the progress made since Title IX was enacted in 1972.

Before this law, participation rates for girls and boys in high school sports rose from less than 10% in 1971 to more than 40% in 2023, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations. Title XI created similar opportunities for women in college sports, increasing female participation from 15% previously to 44% today.

“When girls play sports, they are less depressed, have better body and self-image, are less likely to get pregnant in high school, are more likely to attend college, and have a longer life expectancy,” she says. observed.

“I hate to put us in a conservative category, because there's no right or left involved in this. It's just biology,” she concluded.