Five Things To Know About Women And Sport

Women’s sports have reached an exciting turning point. The world is finally starting to recognize the power, talent, and impact of female athletes. From record-breaking attendance at major events, to women breaking barriers in leadership roles, there is so much happening in women’s sport right now. Yet, many challenges still exist. Here are five key facts about women and sport that everyone should know about women and sport.

Women’s sport is growing at rates never seen before

The journey of women in sports has been remarkable. When, for the first time, women competed in the Olympics in 1900, they made up only 2.2 percent of all athletes. Fast forward to today: things changed completely. For the first time in history, women now have as many spots as men at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. This is a historic high that shows how far the women of sports have come. This is one of the important things to know about women in sports and why women’s sports matter so much.

People are also watching more women’s sports than ever. About 73 percent say they watch women’s sports at least a few times a year, which is very close to the 81 percent who watch men’s sports regularly. The FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023 was huge. It attracted the largest audience for women’s sports in history, reaching about 2 billion people worldwide. This certainly reinforces the fact that audiences are hungry for women’s sports content, underlining why women’s sports matter on a global scale.

Girls who play sport experience lifelong benefits

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When girls play sports, their lives improve. They stay in school longer, they delay having children, and they often get better jobs when they grow up. Sports teach girls confidence, resilience, and teamwork that stays with them throughout their lives.

How sport shapes future success

Studies show just how powerful this impact is. Research found that 80 percent of female CEOs at Fortune 500 companies played sports as girls. In 2023, Deloitte surveyed women who played sports as children and found that 85 percent of them believed the skills they learned in sports were essential to their success at work. That number jumped to 91 percent for women in leadership positions and 93 percent for those earning over $100,000 a year. These five key facts about women and sport highlight the power of participation.

Despite these benefits, many girls stop playing sports by age 14. Girls drop out at twice the rate of boys. The reasons include social pressure, not enough investment in quality sports programs, and sadly, abuse. About 21 percent of female professional athletes experienced sexual abuse as children in sports, compared to only 11 percent of male athletes.

Women athletes inspire the next generation

Women athletes are powerful role models. In fact, a recent survey found that 88 percent of sports fans believe professional women athletes are role models who can inspire young women to keep playing sports. When girls see women succeeding in sports, they believe they can do it too.

Influence of women athletes on fans

Here’s the interesting part: fans are 2.8 times more likely to purchase a product recommended by a woman athlete compared to other influencer categories. Women athletes are also extremely popular on social media. The female athletes have 14 percent larger social media followings than their male peers.

However, female athletes are not given sufficient media attention. Although they comprise half of the sports population, women only receive 16 percent of all media sports coverage. This would mean that fewer people recognize a female athlete as a role model, thus limiting the amount of young girls who become inspired to participate in sports. Getting more women’s sports into the media is one of the most important things to know about women in sports in order to help more girls stay active in sports.

Women are taking on leadership roles in sports

Also Read: Grassroots To Glory: Building Women’s Sport At The Youth Level

Now, more and more women are occupying the leading positions in the sports world, and this already brings a real effect. Women leaders create better policies and push to spend more money on women’s sports. This leads to record audiences at women’s events and better attention to what women athletes need.

Progress and remaining gaps in leadership

But there is still much to be done. Only 26.9 percent of executive positions in international sports organizations are occupied by women. Of 31 international sports federations that were studied, only three had women as leaders. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, women still make up only a small number of coaches. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, women were only 13 percent of all coaches.

Good news is happening, too. The International Olympic Committee now boasts 41 percent female membership, and for the first time ever, reached gender-equal representation on committees in 2022.World Athletics added more women to their council and strives to have more female coaches by the time of the 2025 World Championships.

Pay equality is still an immense issue

One of the big issues faced in women’s sports is the fact that women do not earn as much as men do. Accordingly, female elite athletes take in only about 1 percent of what male athletes earn. None of the world’s 100 highest-paid athletes were women, recent lists showed.

Prize money and equal pay movements

Prize money also shows this gap clearly. The FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023 gave out $150 million in prize money-three times more than the amount given out in 2019. But the men’s World Cup in Qatar gave out $440 million. That’s nearly three times more than what women received. Some sports are changing this problem. One of the first sports to do so was tennis. Billie Jean King fought hard for equal prize money for tennis. The US Open began giving men and women equal pay in 1973. Now, all four major tennis tournaments give equal prize money: the US Open, Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon.

Norway became the first country in 2017 to pay equally to both male and female national team players in football. Other countries like Brazil, Wales, and Australia followed suit. In 2022, the US Women’s National Soccer Team won a huge legal battle for equal pay. They got $22 million to make up for the past unfair treatment.

However, many women athletes still struggle. Female soccer players in Argentina earn about $225 a month, while the men’s team earned $42 million after winning the World Cup. Some women’s teams do not even get paid regularly for their work.

The future is bright for women’s sport

Women’s sports have come a long way, and the progress is real. Women athletes are breaking records, inspiring millions, and demanding fairness. Every day, more girls are playing sports and dreaming big because of what they see women accomplishing. The future of women’s sports is unlimited with continued support, investment, and belief in women athletes. These are important things to know about women in sports and why women’s sports matter now more than ever.