SurveyMonkey and Parity find the fandom gap is closing around the world, but women athletes still face a long road to equality
SAN MATEO, Calif., May 16, 2024 – SurveyMonkey, a global leader in online surveys and forms, and Parity, the sports marketing and sponsorship platform dedicated to closing the gender income and opportunity gap in professional sports, today announced the findings of the largest global survey ever conducted to gain insights about fan engagement and equity in women’s sports. Leveraging extensive anonymized and aggregated SurveyMonkey data from more than 14,000 adults over 18 in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, and the UK, researchers identified key trends in how people view, consume, and engage with women’s sports today.
Key findings of the study, titled “From Moment to Mainstream: What Consumers in 7 Countries Really Think About Women's Sports,” include:
Women’s sports are gaining momentum among fans and more men watch women’s sports frequently
Women athletes hold significantly more sway than other types of influencers
The global majority agree that women athletes are being shortchanged and want more brand investment in women athletes
Women’s soccer and tennis are the most popular worldwide except in the US, where basketball dominates
Despite a growing interest in women’s sports, accessibility remains a barrier—especially for women
Paris 2024 will set a key gender equity milestone—and most people have no idea
“Women’s sports is experiencing a surge of attention right now, but there's still an abundance of pressing questions about the pervasiveness of women’s sports fandom in 2024," says Leela Srinivasan, CEO of Parity. “In collaboration with SurveyMonkey, we embarked on a groundbreaking international survey to reaffirm what those of us committed to leveling the playing field have been witnessing for some time: women's sports are no longer just a 'moment' but a powerful mainstream force. The fandom gap is narrowing, signaling a seismic change in attitudes towards women's sports. While there is much to celebrate, our findings also shed light on the enduring challenges faced by women athletes on the path to true parity.”
“By partnering with Parity on one of the largest women’s sports research projects conducted to date, we uncovered key drivers for the spike in popularity of women’s sports that we’re all witnessing in mainstream media and on our TVs,” said Lara Belonogoff, senior director of brand management and research at SurveyMonkey. “The insights we collected can empower people and businesses to make decisions quickly and confidently to help further close the fracture in fandom between the growing demand for women’s sports and the current reality of investment in them.”
For more information, please visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/parity/.
Methodology
This SurveyMonkey poll was conducted March 28 - April 10, 2024, among a national sample of 5,408 U.S., 1,972 UK, 1,251 Australian, 1,743 Canadian, 1,290 German, 1,193 Spanish, and 1,517 French adults 18+. Respondents for this survey were selected from the more than 2 million people who take surveys on our platform each day. The modeled error estimate for this survey is plus or minus 2.0 percentage points in the U.S., 2.5 percentage points in the UK and Canada, 3.0 percentage points in Germany and France, and 3.5 percentage points in Australia and Spain. U.S. data were weighted for age, race, sex, education, and geography using the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to reflect the demographic composition of the United States. Data in the UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, Spain, and France were weighted for age and sex using data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to reflect the demographic composition of those countries.
About SurveyMonkey
SurveyMonkey is a global leader in online surveys and forms that empowers people with the insights they need to make decisions with speed and confidence. Our fast, intuitive feedback management platform connects millions of users worldwide with real-time AI-powered insights that drive meaningful decisions. We provide answers to more than 20 million questions every day so that people and organizations can attract new audiences, delight customers, create advocates, and extend their competitive advantage in the marketplace. Our vision is to raise the bar for human experiences by amplifying individual voices. Learn more at surveymonkey.com.
About Parity
Minority-founded in 2020, Parity is a sports marketing and sponsorship platform dedicated to closing the gender income and opportunity gap in professional sports. By developing high-impact collaborations between brands, professional women athletes and their fans, Parity has proudly put millions of dollars in the pockets of women athletes, attracting dozens of brands to the movement in the process. The platform connects brands like Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, AdventHealth and Superfeet to more than 1,000 women athletes from 75+ sports, including well over 250 Olympians and Paralympians. For more information on how to tap into the rapidly rising influence and popularity of women athletes, visit https://paritynow.co or follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Media Contact
SurveyMonkey PR
Michelle Isaacs, 22 Spring on behalf of Parity