Mahomes: Being a mother, entrepreneur and investor is more than a balancing act; it’s a power move

It was the perfect venue to honor Brittany Mahomes, said Wendy Doyle, noting investments by the entrepreneur, investor, athlete, mother of three, and co-owner of the Kansas City Current helped bring CPKC Stadium — the first stadium in the world purpose-built for a women’s professional team — and its promise to life.

“This stadium sends a clear message. Women’s sports are not a cause. They are a market,” said Doyle, president and CEO of United WE. “And when you invest in them, they grow.”

United We gathered Wednesday to celebrate the national nonprofit’s 35 years of advancing women’s economic and civic leadership, as well as to honor Mahomes as the inaugural recipient of the organization’s Champions for Change Award.

Click here to learn more about United WE.

“Brittany represents a new model of leadership,” said Doyle. “One where women are not just competing, but building; not just participating, but owning; not just inspiring, but transforming entire industries.”

Mahomes — who owns the local women’s professional soccer team, alongside her husband Patrick Mahomes and riverfront power duo Angie and Chris Long — was recognized for her lasting economic and cultural impact, made through her leadership, entrepreneurship, and investment in women’s professional sports, according to United WE.

“She began as an athlete,” Doyle explained. “She understood the discipline, the competition, the commitment. But she also saw something else: a gap between what women’s sports were and what they could be. So, she made a different choice. She didn’t wait for the system to evolve. She helped build a new one.”

 

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Taking the stage, Mahomes accepted the honor while noting that for all the accolades and headlines, she doesn’t see investing in women as simply a good thing to do.

“It’s the smartest play on the board,” she said.

“Being here at CPKC Stadium means so much to me,” Mahomes continued. “This building alone is a powerful symbol of the incredible growth and impact our collective efforts have made for women in leadership and women’s sports.”

“I’m proud to be one of many women who represent the first generation to truly see what happens when women are given keys to the stadium and the boardroom,” she added. “We talk a lot about setting an example for the next generation, and as a mom, my goal isn’t for my daughters and my son to see women’s leadership as an inspiration. I want them to see women in positions of power and leadership as the norm. I want them to grow up in a world where women owning a team or a company is the standard.”

“And I want them to know that being a mother and an athlete, an entrepreneur, or whatever they want to be, isn’t just a balancing act. It is a power move.”

Mahomes voiced gratitude for progress made, and pledged renewed commitment to the work that remains.

“We are here to build real equity and create spaces where women don’t just have a seat at the table, but they own the building that the table sits in,” she said.

Solutions through civility

Doyle acknowledged progress doesn’t come without conflict — and that reality only deepens the need for civility to find answers, she said.

“In a moment when it can feel like division is everywhere, the work of coming together and building solutions that last has never mattered more,” Doyle said. “Civility is often misunderstood as politeness, but in our work, especially today, when our country is deeply divided, civility has a much more important job to do.”

“Civility is how big decisions get made that lead to even bigger changes that matter,” she continued. “Civility is the ability to listen, the willingness to work across differences, and the dedication to staying focused on results, even when perspectives don’t align.”

At its core, civility is rooted in common sense, Doyle noted.

“That’s because the challenges we face don’t belong to one side or the other, and nor do the successes that come from solving them,” she said. “They require people coming together to create solutions, and that’s the hard part. Not agreeing, but staying at the table, long enough, to build something that works.”

“In the end, civility isn’t a value we talk about. It’s the infrastructure that allows us to build everything that lasts. Look at the region we’re in. Different states, different approaches, but shared priorities,” Doyle said. “Progress doesn’t happen by eliminating those differences. It happens by working through them.”

Shelley Zalis, founder and CEO of The Female Quotient, speaks alongside moderator Maneet Ahuja, founder and editor-at-large of ICONOCLAST for Forbes Media, and fellow panelist Robert L. Cohen, chairman and CEO of IMA Financial Group, during the United WE Champions for Change event at CPKC Stadium; photo by Samantha Levi Photography

Women’s economic mobility

Supporting women means supporting Kansas City’s economic engine, leaders said Wednesday.

“Investing in women’s economic mobility is a business imperative that strengthens our entire regional economy,” said Matt Linski, president of Bank of America Kansas City, which served as presenting sponsor for Champions for Change. “We are thrilled to support this dialogue at a venue that represents the pinnacle of investment in women’s leadership.”

A panel conversation at the event featured experts in business, media, and sports.

“What we need to do is create workplaces that work for everybody, regardless of gender,” said panelist Robert L. Cohen, chairman and CEO of IMA Financial Group, and controlling owner of Denver Summit FC. “If we break down the barriers, the facts speak for themselves. … We know if we invest in women in the same way we invest in men, we’ll get the same results.”

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe echoed those sentiments, both as the Show Me State’s executive and the father of three women, he said in a taped message for the celebration.

“Like every parent, I want my daughters to grow up in a world where they have every opportunity to succeed, to lead, to build, and to pursue whatever path they choose,” said Kehoe, joining United WE in taking a moment to acknowledge the significance of CPKC Stadium and Mahomes’ contributions. “And that starts with the environments we create and the opportunities we make available.”