Sports marketing is an important aspect that focuses on promoting sports events to enhance individual engagement in sporting activities and to capitalize on meeting the needs and wants of the consumers. An important aspect of consideration in sports marketing is gender equality considering that the different needs of males and females engaging in sporting activities. Over the years, the marketing of women's sports is not highly deemed to be compared to the marketing of men's sport, which is an aspect that portrays the level of gender inequality in sports. When focusing on women in sports, it is important to note the challenges experienced because of the limited marketing strategies implemented to boost their individual engagements. The challenges experienced hinders the ability to build on the sporting career. On the other, men in sports tend to grow their career effectively considering the level of support they obtained to help in enhancing growth and to motivate their level of engagement in the sports industry.
Literature Review
Sports marketing plays a significant role in benefiting both men and women, engaging in different kinds of sporting activities. Considering that sports are an integral part of society, promoting engagement in different sporting activities among men and women is important as it helps in the nurturing of different talents for people in society. The level of engagement in various sports activities is defined by the nature of the support given to individuals to encourage and support them on the need to take part in the activities. In that case, the promotion of sports of both men and women is necessary to help in creating balance and equality in sporting activities. There are significant differences between the marketing of women's sports and men's sports, which is an aspect that is defined by attitudes and perceptions of people in the sports industry. In this section, the primary objective involves focusing the difference between the marketing of women's sport and marketing of men's sports focus on the impact of the given differences.
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Differences in Marketing of Women’s Sports and Men’s Sports
The marketing of women's sports is generally different from marketing men's sports. The difference is portrayed by different factors that are crucial in sports. The first point of analysis of the differences is the issue of sponsorship. In sports marketing, sponsorship is an important aspect that helps to have a powerful and impactful marketing technique. Sponsorship in sports helps in the provision of funding and necessary resources to allow the athletes to engage in different kinds of training to enhance their skills and abilities. In the marketing of women's sports, sponsors tend to hesitate to provide full sponsorship, thus resulting in a significant impact on sports. On the other hand, the marketing of men's sports receives huge sponsorships from different organizations and partners whose intentions are to support the men's sports through the provision of funds and materials to boost engagement.
Farrell, Fink, and Fields (2011) maintain that there are factors that contribute to a lack of sponsorship for women sports, and there are factors that contribute availability of sponsoring partners within men's sports. Among the factors that result in a lack of adequate sponsorship for the women, sports include perceptions and attitudes towards women. Generally, women ought to be considered as a weak gender compared to men who are regarded as strong and with the ability to undertake extraordinary tasks in different fields. Additionally, the fact that sponsors aim to get good returns from sports is an aspect that impacts on the issue of marketing of women's sports. In that case, most sponsors have a perception that the women's sports cannot provide good returns considering the abilities and level of expertise of the women. On the contrary, most of the sponsors tend to support men's sports and consider men to have a higher level of expertise that enables them to engage in a wide range of sporting activities.
The second factor that may help to analyze the differences between the marketing of men sports and women sports is the number of audiences that sports may have. Sports marketing focuses on the number of audiences considering that they are the key consumers and supporters of sports. When focusing on the analysis of the marketing of different sports, it is important to obtain an estimate of the number of fans that may attend a given sporting event. Leong (2017) maintains that the majority of women's sports do not have a lot of fans compared to fans in men's sports. Scheadler and Wagstaff, (2018) provide a scenario in which more fans attend a men's sports such as a football match, which differs from the number of fans that attend women's sports. The major difference experienced regarding the number of fans and the audience attracted by either women's sport or men's sports indicates the difference between the advertising of men and women's sports.
Lack of enough audiences in women's sports is attributed to several cultural, physical, and social factors. Firstly, most cultures tend to believe that women should not engage in sports considering that the industry is male-dominated. The cultural believes and myths tend to think the engagement of women in sports as inappropriate and that women should only be involved in activities that are approved by society. In that case, the cultural belief impacts the number of fans that support women's sports. On the other hand, men receive massive support from loyal fans who support different sports. The cultural and social factors in society support the engagement of men in different sporting activities, thus creating a massive base of fans that are interested in supporting the sports. da Silva and Las Casas (2018) argue that having a lot of audiences play an important role in enhancing the motivation of the players to better their skills and abilities.
The major implication of a high and low number of audiences involves the development of a pay gap. Payment in sports is a significant aspect that enhances motivation among the players to better their skills and abilities. When comparing the issue of marketing of women's sports versus men's sports concerning the issue of a number of fans, it is important to note that there is a huge pay gap between men and women's sports. Harper (2017) maintains that the majority of men engaging in different kinds of sports tend to receive higher payment and compensation compared to women players engaging in the given sporting activities. In sports marketing, compensation of the players is a vital aspect that is determined by the number of fans that a player may attract in any given sport activity. The fact that women's sports experience challenges in attracting a huge crowd are an aspect that impacts the ability to receive adequate payment, thus creating a considerable gap.
The third factor that helps to describe the differences experienced in the marketing of women's sport versus the men's sport is the issue of opportunities. Marketing in sports focuses on the promotion of sporting activities by creating events and activities to support and benefit players in the sports industry. Farrell, Fink, and Fields (2011) argue that most women players tend to have limited opportunities to take part in different sports activities, which is an aspect that impacts their level of motivation and engagement. The issue of the limited opportunities hinders the promotional activities of major sports, thus resulting in a lack of proper development in the sports industry. When focusing on men's sports, there are massive opportunities that are presented for the male players to engage in a wide range of sporting activities. The opportunities are given to help the players to enhance and develop their sporting careers effectively.
The issue of opportunities in sporting involves a wide range of factors such as the hiring of players and the opportunity to take part in different activities. Leong (2017) maintains that the level of opportunities presented for the women on sports is relatively lower than the level of opportunities presented for the women players. The issue of opportunities affects the marketing of women's sports, thus resulting in a situation where no many promotional events that are organized the sports. Promotional activities of sporting events and programs plays a significant role in enhancing the growth and development of sports and ultimately enhances the level of motivation of the players. When focusing on the issue of marketing of men's sports, the high level of opportunities presented helps to enhance promotional activities to support the sports. Ultimately, men's sports tend to receive more support from a wide range of fans and people who have interests in sports.
The fourth factor that enhances the analysis of the major differences experienced in women's sport and men's sport is recognition from all the stakeholders in the sporting industry. Sports marketing is all about earning recognition and ensuring that the majority of people tend to learn about sports through the different promotional activities and events associated with the marketing of sporting activities. Scheadler and Wagstaff, (2018) maintain that recognition of players in the sporting industry helps to create opportunities for endorsements, which is an important factor that promotes the efficiency of the players. In the promotion of women's sports, recognition is a vital aspect that helps to ensure that women players get endorsement deals, which help to improve on career development.
Considering that the majority of women's sports are not recognized and valued in society, receiving endorsement deals for the women players is relatively difficult. On the other hand, men's sports do not require to put much effort to earn recognition, considering that most sports and most male players are recognized in the sports industry. In that case, earning endorsement deals for the male players is relatively easy compared to the female players. Most of the companies with endorsement deals tend to approach the male players with the request to partner in endorsing different products, which is not the case in female sports. Having access to endorsement deals is a significant factor that helps to promote sports, and it helps to increase individual contribution in the sports.
Gender Equality in Spots Marketing
Gender equality is an essential aspect of sports as it helps to promote equal engagement for both men and women in the industry. In the sports industry, there are women and men's sports, which define the level of engagement for both males and females. The issue of gender equality focuses on ensuring that all sports are recognized and valued equally to ensure that the players earn support from different stakeholders in the industry. The main objective of sports marketing is to ensure that men and women can capitalize on their skills and abilities in the sports industry. When focusing on the marketing of women's sports, it is vital to note that gender quality is the primary issue that results in a series of factors that affect the indulgence of women in different sports. Gender inequality in sports marketing does affect not only individual capacities but also the industry that incorporates a wide range of sports.
The issues of gender equality in sports are indicated by the lack of a proper balance between the involvement of females and males in the sports industry. Lack of equal opportunities is a primary factor that portrays the inequalities of gender in the sports industry. The second factor that indicates inequalities in the industry is the lack of promotional activities associated with either the men's sports or the women's sports. The promotional activities may include a wide range of factors that include advertising and different campaigns that seek to communicate factors concerning different sports. When comparing the issues of gender inequality in the sports industry, it is necessary to note that most of the men's sports are highly valued than women sports. da Silva and Las Casas (2018) maintain that the media plays a significant role in promoting gender inequality through putting more emphasis on advertisements that involves men sports and less emphasis on an advertisement that targets women in the sports industry.
Benefits of Gender Equality in Sports
Maintaining gender equality in sports is a necessary aspect that results in a wide range of benefits to individuals and the industry in general. The primary benefit associated with gender equality in the sports industry is the ability to build on the talent and skills of the people in society. Farrell, Fink, and Fields (2011) maintain that the provision of equal opportunities for men and women helps to capitalize on enhancing skills and abilities that are necessary for different kinds of sports. The second benefit relates to the motivation of the players to take part in different sports to entertain and self-satisfaction. Sport is an important facet that helps to improve individual interactions and social development. Additionally, it is necessary to note that sports help to reduce crime rates in society, considering that people tend to focus more on personal growth in different sporting activities. Lastly, maintaining gender inequality impacts the sports industry by creating more activities and promotional events that enhance the growth and development of the industry.
Solutions for Gender Inequalities in Sports
The implementation of effective strategies in sports marketing may help to overcome issues of gender inequalities in the sports industry. The first recommendation for dealing with inequality is the provision of equal platforms for all people to engage in different sporting activities. The platforms may help to ensure all genders can take part in any activity without any form of hindrances. Secondly, the media should focus on creating programs and promotional activities that support both the men and women's sports without creating any form of biases. Lastly, it is essential to capitalize on creating empowerment for both men and women to identify their skills and abilities in a bid to engage in a broad range of sporting activities. The implementation of the given strategies may help to ensure that all people have equal chances to engage in sports.
Conclusion
Sports marketing plays a significant role in benefiting both men and women, engaging in different kinds of sporting activities. The marketing of women's sports is generally different from marketing men's sports. In sports marketing, sponsorship is an important aspect that helps to have a powerful and impactful marketing technique. Marketing in sports focuses on the promotion of sporting activities by creating events and activities to support and benefit players in the sports industry. Sports marketing is all about earning recognition and ensuring that the majority of people tend to learn about sports through the different promotional activities and events associated with the marketing of sporting activities. Gender inequality in sports marketing does affect not only individual capacities but also the industry that incorporates a wide range of sports. Maintaining gender inequality impacts the sports industry by creating more activities and promotional events that enhance the growth and development of the industry.
References
da Silva, E. C., & Las Casas, A. L. (2018). Sports Ecosystem of the “Triad of São Paulo”: Sports Marketing Management According to Fans. International Journal of Marketing Studies , 10 (3).
Farrell, A., Fink, J. S., & Fields, S. (2011). Women's sports spectatorship: An exploration of men's influence. Journal of Sport Management , 25 (3), 190-201.
Harper, J. (2017). Athletic Gender. Law & Contemp. Probs. , 80 , 139.
Leong, N. (2017). Against Women's Sports. Wash. UL Rev. , 95 , 1249.
Scheadler, T., & Wagstaff, A. (2018). Exposure to women’s sports: Changing attitudes toward female athletes. The Sport Journal , 19 , 1-17.
