According to the World Bank, 49.6 percent of the world’s population are women.
If we used a mathematical or statistical vision, we could think that the proportion of women who practice sport or who dedicate themselves to the world of sport business could evolve in similar proportions.
But that’s too far from reality.
Women’s participation in sport
1967. It was the year the first woman participated in a marathon. And not because women were capable of doing it, but because only one woman managed to circumvent the ban imposed by the Boston Marathon race management.
Fortunately, the view of women’s participation in sport, particularly in the Western market and increasingly around the world, is changing. Sports participation is a growing trend, with average growth rates between 6 and 10 percent over the past five years. It is now completely normal to see women participating in sporting competitions or practicing physical activities in their leisure time.
Despite this, there are still big differences. According to Eurostat, the rate of sporting activity (at least 150 minutes per week) is 35.7 percent among men and 26.2 percent among women. There are, however, large differences between countries: only five EU countries have a higher percentage of working women than men in their population. We can find an “exception”: the world of esports, where this gap seems to be narrowing. According to Statista, in 2021, 46% of American gamers were women. In Asia, similar figures are shown.
How could this be explained? Perhaps because it is a newer market, unaffected by a historical stigma? Maybe.
Women and sports sciences
Another trending question concerns sports science: do women perform as well as men? Should women and men train the same way? Maybe not, or at least not in all cases. Despite the increase in the number of female athletes at all levels, scientific research is mainly carried out on a male sample and has not yet taken into account the influence of female biological characteristics (such as the menstrual cycle) and their possible influence on performances. Fortunately, more and more articles are appearing around this topic and there is growing interest in this trend.
Women and sport: a trending subject today?
“Women in sport” is a major topic in today’s society. Here are some facts:
In 2021, according to Forbes, the 10 highest-paid female athletes earned a total of $166.6 million, an increase of 20% from the previous year.
According to a 2022 Nielsen report, 61% of sports fans in the United States cite “gender equality” among the causes that excite them about sports. This may be linked to the United States women’s national soccer team players’ struggle to close the pay gap, a story that has been covered by media outlets around the world.
Media coverage of events also plays a key role. A new UK TV deal in 2021 made it easier to watch the Women’s Football Super League and led to a 542% increase in viewership. In the United States, an increase in coverage of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament helped double viewership in 2021 compared to 2019.
Women in the world of sport
These figures represent just a small sample of the growth and potential of women’s sport in the sports sector. Despite this, how many women do you know in “leadership positions” in the sports industry?
Perhaps the first answer that comes to mind is something like: only a few.
Cynthia Marshall, Kim Ng, Nicole Lynn, Laura Martínez or Elaia Gangoiti. If we read these names, they may not sound very familiar to us. However, they are respectively: CEO of the Dallas Mavericks, General Manager of the Miami Marlins, first woman to represent an NFL agency and presidents of Athletic de Bilbao CF in Spain.
Women occupy leadership positions between 10 and 20 percent of total positions in the sports industry, depending on the country. But over the past ten years, this figure has tripled.
Why don’t we find more women in top positions in the sports sector?
There is no single answer to this question and it is surely the result of a combination of different factors: social stigma, lack of motivation, lack of support, lack of references and many other “lacks”.
Now comes the most important question: how can we change this?
Again, the answer is not closed, but one of the most powerful ways can be education. Through education, we have the power to change the world, and therefore the role of women in sporting society.
Only 13 percent of students in sports business postgraduate programs are women. However, their employability rate is the same, or even higher, than that of men.
This could be explained by the change in mindset of some organizations, which now prioritize people’s skills, technological aptitude and attitude rather than gender. Additionally, they prioritize hiring more women, to reduce the gender gap among their employees.
We can find business schools like ESBS and AMOS, where we work to encourage women to fight to achieve their goals in sports business. Roland Garros, Major League Soccer, Redbull, Valencia CF, JC Ferrero Equelite Sport Academy or FIBA, among others, are some of the organizations where our graduates currently work, holding positions of responsibility.
Additionally, we lead by example, with 64% female staff on our Spanish campuses. Each year, the proportion of women in our list of speakers increases. They contribute their knowledge to the teaching of undergraduate and master’s students, thus fighting for gender equity in the sector.
The future of women in the sports industry
It is a fact that women still have a lot to say in the world of sport. The increase in involvement is enormous, as is the gap we can see compared to men. There is still much to do, and education is the key.
Relevant professionals in sports organisations, clubs and media are vital to leading change and closing the gender gap, but we must not forget where we come from. It’s really important to raise your children in a mindset where careers are not associated with gender, but with the passion that drives people.
Now is the time for some personal reflection. What role do you think women play in the sports sector? Do you think this should change? And most importantly: what are you going to do, from your own position, to make this change? Once you have answers to these questions, it’s time to act.
This article is part of the SportBusiness Postgraduate Rankings 2022. To browse the full report and view the overall tables, Click here.
