Portland State partners with Her Competitive Advantage to promote female student athletes

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Portland State Athletics launched a new partnership with Her Competitive Advantage to support female student-athletes in their transition from college into the workforce. 

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that 75% of undergraduate female student-athletes graduate with no employment offer, therefore PSU Athletics decided to join forces with Her Competitive Advantage (HCA) in order to identify various systemic causes for this disparity.  

This consists of a number of contributing factors, such as travel since student-athletes commute to sporting events which causes them to be unprepared and have less time in the classroom compared to normal students.

Her Competitive Advantage (HCA) provides a global platform for female student-athletes to connect with top employers and network in person. In addition to targeted recruitment, HCA provides exclusive educational content where female student-athletes can hear from women who pivoted into successful careers after graduation and personalized coaching.

Portland State Director of Academic Services Libby Bissen discussed why this issue needed to be addressed and said, “Hearing from both our current student-athletes and recent graduates, our support services staff identified career development as an area of need. We’re thankful for Her Competitive Advantage for this partnership so that we can help set up our student-athletes for a better future.”

According to an HCA survey, undergraduate female athletes earn 30% less in their first job than non-athletes.