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.
Serena and Venus Williams are two of the best athletes to ever grace the tennis court. They are nonetheless athletes, entrepreneurs, investors, and philanthropists. They are everything that young athletes – both male and female – should look up to and a near-perfect example of the overall strategy that athletes should try to emulate. What makes their case exceptional, is that they rose to prominence at a time where it was commonplace to consider female sports as subpar to male competition; they can be credited to an extent for changing that perception as well. The fact that they are sisters is just the cherry on the top.
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 athlete’s brand as a term is somewhat ambiguous and hard to pin down. In the past couple of decades, we’ve witnessed a marked rise in the visibility, demand and popularity of female sports with a series of factors driving this trend. Part and parcel, is the emergence of ever-powerful female athlete brands. Some examples are Serena and Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and Ronda Rousey
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...
By Niovie Constantinou, Contributor Professional female athletes, just like male athletes, spend their career focusing on their sport, wholeheartedly committing to it from a very young age. The result can be that they rely excessively on their identities as...
By Demetris Constantinou, Contributor The notion of women athletes is younger than most people believe as it was brought to birth at the beginning of the 20th century, with women participating in the Paris Olympic Games. The 1900 Olympics were a historic moment...
By Andreas Themistokleous, Contributor It really should have been a very brief article: “If she can’t see it, she can’t be it. Thanks for reading”. But, then, the editor would probably kick me off the team so, all jokes aside, you probably get the hint. In February...
By Constantinos Massonos, Contributor Gender inequality has been an issue in society all through recorded history, with countless cases of women facing issues of equality in their relationships, career, education, and other aspects of their lives. Historically in...
