Women Athletes

Gender (in)equality has become an increasingly discussed topic in the 21st century. It started as a reaction of many females that felt trampled, but eventually grew to become one of the largest social and political movements society has witnessed. This increase in zest for the topic has resulted in it affecting several aspects of life, including – in a controversial manner – sports.

Female interest and presence in the sports industry has been steadily increasing, particularly in the past couple of decades. Statistically, the percentage of females competing at a club level, is approximately 23% higher than their male counterpart percentage. This is mainly due to the push for gender equality; for which many female athletes fought to achieve in their own individual fields. However, the journey of female athletes in sports began a long time ago…

“An Olympiad with females would be impractical, uninteresting, unaesthetic and improper.” This statement was made by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, father of the modern Olympic Games. Since then, women have been fighting for equality, social change and have shattered many glass ceilings, not only in sports but in all walks of life.

With women in sports being historically underrepresented, over the past decade a significant increase in interest has been noticed, with the spotlight being shifted to female athletes. This increased interest in female athletes is here to stay, with female sports showing great resilience over time, building grounds for even greater growth. The rise of female sports has undoubtedly had an impact on the sports industry, not just affecting athletes but also rights holders, media, sponsors, brand commercialization practices and fan engagement; leading to major changes in the dynamics of the industry as a whole

By Rena Afami, APC Sports Sponsorship in sports is a marketing technique for brands to generate brand awareness and customer loyalty by investing in athletes either individually or in groups. Male athletes have always dominated the industry and it is apparent that...

By Iacovos Iacovides, APC Sports When we think about women who fight for equality in sports, we tend to think of Megan Rapinoe or Nneka Ogwumike or other athletes of our generation. However, one can find numerous instances in history where women defied conventional...

By Niovie Constantinou, Contributor In the 20th century, women were underrepresented in the sports industry, while the idea of female entrepreneurship would seem ambitious at best; what about female athletes as entrepreneurs? Unheard of. In the last fifty years...

The difference in pay between athletes can vary by millions of dollars and this difference can be justified by their different levels of skill, popularity and quality. But when it comes to women athletes, they seem to be paid at a whole different scale from their male counterparts in the same sport, to such an extent that even the examples seem hard to believe.

By Andreas Themistocleous, Contributor I recently attended a global summit on women’s football and was pleasantly surprised by the large participation of male professionals attending and participating on the subject. As I mentioned in one of my interventions, we...

By Niovie Constantinou, Contributor In the era of the female empowerment movement, gender inequality is still an issue in the world of sport, with female athletes experiencing gaps in sponsorships and prize money, gender-based violence and negative stereotypes....

By Constantinos Massonos, Contributor For years, women as athletes, technical staff, game officials, team or league executives have been forging inroads through the sports industry, in their efforts to bridge a deep-rooted gender gap.  Today, mainly because of...

By Anna Kyprianou, APC Sports Consulting Ltd “Attendances are growing for the women’s league, and we’re well placed to become a mainstream sport in the future. I did not think when I started, that within my career it would be possible to be a full-time pro in...