Four major brands have just adopted the “Athena Pledge” to invest in women’s sports

In a professional sports landscape where women receive only 10% of the sponsorship, 15% of the media coverage and a fraction of the broadcast rights compared to men’s sports, four major brands have just publicly committed to investing large sums of money in women’s sports.

The Athena Pledge – a first-of-its-kind platform – consists of four founding members, including AT&T, Capital One, Cisco and Deloitte, who have come together to advance strategic efforts around women’s sports. The purpose of the pledge is two-fold: 1) to mobilize investment, research and opportunity in women’s sports and 2) to encourage other brands to commit to increased spending and support of the women’s sports ecosystem.

“We want to find twenty like-minded brands that want to come together to support women’s sports,” said Pete Giorgio, Global and US Sports Practice Leader at Deloitte. “We’re looking for companies that want to be at the table as we move this forward because [women’s sports] will grow, and we want it to grow the right way.”

Even though women’s sport has seen a remarkable 300% growth in fans, viewers and customers in just three years, there is still an underinvestment in women’s sport. A recent report from Gather found that only 6% of Fortune 500 companies currently have sponsorships, although Deloitte predicts that women’s elite sports are expected to generate more than $1.28 billion in global revenue in 2024 alone.

Brand decision makers still face setbacks in women’s sports

As part of the Athena Pledge, AT&T, Capital One, Cisco and Deloitte invested in a survey conducted by The Collective at Wasserman to identify factors influencing investment decisions in women’s sports among brand decision makers.

The survey found that there remain significant challenges for brands when it comes to investing in women’s sports. 32% of brand leaders surveyed encountered internal resistance when attempting to increase investment in this area, and 57% of decision makers surveyed cited unproven business returns as a key barrier to investing in women’s sports.

However, despite these obstacles, the survey also found that 93% of brand leaders are optimistic about the future growth of women’s sports, and almost every brand currently investing in women’s sports expects their investments to increase over the next five years.

“We’ve seen firsthand how consistent and targeted investments in women’s sports drive significant business results,” said Mark Wright, vice president of media and sponsorships at AT&T. “By aligning goals with actions, we show that promoting gender equality in sport is a strategic business decision.”

Doing good for business and doing good for society

For the brands that join the Athena Pledge, it’s about more than just developing strong brand campaigns by harnessing the marketing power of women’s sports. It’s about aligning core values ​​and creating equal access and opportunities for women and girls in sport.

“Our goal is for our sports sponsorship portfolio to be a reflection of our company purpose, and this commitment is not only the right thing to do, but also makes good business sense,” said Carrie Palin, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Cisco.

While demonstrating the economic value of women’s sports is a key factor in attracting brands to invest in this space, the founding members of the Athena Pledge also believe in the social value that comes with supporting opportunities for women and girls Sport.

“Investing in women’s sports is an incredible opportunity to level the playing field,” said Lara Abrash, chair of Deloitte US. “At Deloitte we believe this is about more than just supporting games; It’s about inspiring the next generation and working towards a more inclusive future for all.”

Currently, AT&T, Capital One, Cisco and Deloitte’s sponsorships in women’s sports collectively include support of the WNBA, NWSL, USGA, US Open, US Soccer, Team USA, IOC, LA28 and more.