The international fitness industry is male-dominated, and leadership positions are mainly held by men. This is the conclusion of a study conducted by Sport Alliance and Women in Fitness Association (WIFA). A total of 679 participants from the fitness industry took part in the (non-representative) global online survey.
The results provide insight into the structure of the industry:
- While 70 percent of men surveyed are self-employed gym owners, only 29 percent of women are.
- 47 percent of men employed by a company in the fitness industry are in a leadership role. For women, that number is 36 percent.
- In the context of self-employment, men make up 70 percent of gym owners. For women, that number is only 29 percent.
- For women in leadership positions, 27 percent say their path to becoming a leader was more difficult because of their gender. By contrast, only 7 percent cite this as a reason among men.
- When asked about gender bias in their company, 82 percent of men responded that there is none. For women, the figure is 64 percent. 19 percent of women said they could not say if there were a gender bias (for men, it was 7 percent).
The study editors’ results show that there is still a long way to go for diversity and equality in the industry. The study can be downloaded here.
