Those who know sports tourism know that each year, women play an ever-increasing role in not just the sports themselves, but in the business end of the industry. But until now, finding all that information in one place has been REALLY hard to do.
So if there’s one group to thank, it’s Ohio University’s Online Masters in Athletic Administration program, which recently put together a wide-ranging infographic that outlines the number of ways women athletes are catching up with men in terms of money and attention — and at both the professional and amateur levels.
Five highlights:
Girls’ participation in high school sports has increased every year for a quarter-century.
At the college level, women’s softball is drawing more fans than baseball.
Forty percent of all sports participants are women, yet women’s sports only receive 4 percent of all sports media coverage.
Nike now sells jerseys featuring members of the women’s U.S. national soccer team, which won the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Nearly one-third of Under Armour’s annual sales come from women’s apparel.
“More research is planned to understand the part women play in all aspects of sports, from the stadium to the store,” according to a statement from the university. “Marketing experts know they must keep female fans happy so they continue to buy tickets to matches. Women are spending money on sports clothing and sports-related paraphernalia, and TV channels rely on viewing among women ages 18 to 49 to keep their ratings high. These factors give women a lot of power.”
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