There’s no question: As the many reports we’ve published on the topic over the past year suffice to show, women have gained visibility and relevance in sports. But how far have they really come?
The International Olympic Committee has recently announced that the forthcoming Summer Games in Paris will have as many women as men competing – a first for the Olympic Games (of the modern era). Asics has published a study on women’s physical activity and the gender gap in exercise, while Sports Direct seeks to raise the number of women in football. Indeed, many organizations, brands and retailers have set their sights on gender equality, at least as a marketing issue. Only a look behind the scenes at each entity can tell us whether it’s more than that.
Here’s the corrected version:
“This is why we asked Maria Valdes, Chief Product Officer at Puma, about the importance of a brand’s role in promoting diversity and equality. You can read her answer in our exclusive interview. And, of course, Valdes also had to prove that Puma, as an employer, walks the talk.”
For Kari Traa, “empowering women, bringing women together in communities and increasing self-confidence” is the brand’s purpose. As General Manager Georgina Kirby explains in an exclusive SGIE interview, 70 percent of the employees at parent company Active Brands are women.
Perception of women in sports
At the same time, the perception of women’s sports in the media is changing profoundly. We need to look no further than the search behavior of various sports leagues. Six of the top ten leagues with the most searches on Google and YouTube are women’s sports leagues. The final of the Women’s World Cup was probably the most-watched female sporting event ever. In countries such as Australia and Germany, the tournament broke viewer ratings records.
Real gender equality in sports?
So, has gender equality in sports been achieved? In short, no. Our data shows that women lag behind men in sports-company management. Only 23.9 percent of the executives at the 65 largest sporting goods companies are women. At the aforementioned Active Brands, for example, the CEO and his predecessor are both male.
There is also the matter of sports participation. Fewer women take part overall than men. As for exercise, data from the WHO show that around one-third of women, but only one-fifth of men, do too little. At the same time, many professional female athletes complain that they train under poorer conditions than their male colleagues. There is not a single woman in Forbes’ ranking of the ten richest athletes of all time. The same applies to the best-paid athletes in 2023.
As diverse as the aspects of “women in sport” are, gender equality lies far off. If the goal had been reached, there would be no need for an International Women’s Day.
