New Research from Parity Offers Roadmap for Brands Entering Women’s Sports

Apr 8, 2025; San Jose, California, USA; USWNT fans hold signs during the first half against Brazil at PayPal Park. Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

Comprehensive Study Reveals Increasing Trust in Pro Women Athletes, Basketball’s Continued Domination, Rising Influence of New Leagues, and Fan Appetite for Athlete-First Brand Partnerships.

NEW YORK — June 12, 2025 — Parity, the premier platform for professional women athlete partnerships, today released its latest research, offering one of the largest and most current analyses of U.S. women’s sports fandom and sponsorship impact. The report presents critical insights to guide how brands engage with the rapidly growing women’s sports ecosystem.

Titled “US Women’s Sports Report 2025: Give the Fans What they Want”, the research  surveyed nearly 2,400 U.S. consumers, including over 1,000 dedicated fans of women’s sports, spanning a diverse range of sports — including basketball, volleyball, tennis, soccer, golf, hockey, and softball. The findings, collected in April 2025, examine where fan attention is trending, what builds trust, and how brands can engage in ways that drive real-world impact and purchase consideration. 

Leela Srinivasan, CEO of Parity, unveils US Women’s Sports Report 2025: Give the Fans What They Want during the Sports Business Journal Brand Innovation Summit on June 12, 2025.

“There’s no shortage of headlines about women’s sports growth, but marketers need more than hype — they need direction,” says Leela Srinivasan, CEO of Parity. “This report is designed to guide brands navigating the dynamic women’s sports sponsorship landscape, offering practical insights to build smart, effective strategies that give women’s sports fans what they want.”

Among the key takeaways:

• Basketball Extends its Lead: Women’s basketball continues to dominate viewership in the U.S., with 63% of women’s sports fans naming it as their top sport — more than men’s basketball among male sports fans (51%). 

• Emerging Leagues Are Building Real Fandom: From the Professional Volleyball Federation to the USL Super League and Professional Women's Hockey League, newer leagues are gaining traction, especially in regions with local team footprints. Regionality is becoming a key driver of fandom and brand engagement. 

• Trust in Pro Women Athletes Has Never Been Higher: The influence and credibility of professional women athletes extends well beyond just women’s sports fans. An overwhelming 68% of all sports fans — not just women’s sports fans — say they trust that women athletes believe in the products they promote. Even among those who never watch women’s sports, trust is rising: 58% of this group now express trust, up 6 percentage points from last year. The fastest growth was seen among men who watch women’s sports, with an 8-point increase to 74%, followed closely by daily or weekly viewers, up 6 points to 84%. 
  
  

• Apparel, Health & Beauty, and Food & Beverage Lead Sponsor Awareness — and Influence Purchases: These three categories are the most recognized by fans and also most likely to influence purchase behavior. Women who watch women’s sports are 40% more likely to purchase from Apparel brands that sponsor women’s sports. Health & Beauty and Food & Beverage aren’t far behind — with sponsorship clearly impacting consumer decisions.

• Fans Want Athlete-Forward Brand Strategies: The research shows a clear appetite for brands to go beyond logo placement. Fans of all ages value meaningful partnerships with athletes more highly than they value sponsorships of teams, leagues, and tournaments — with 43% of women’s sports fans and 67% of those who frequently watch women’s sports saying a brand’s partnership with a woman athlete makes them more likely to purchase. The research shows an especially strong appetite for cause campaigns, giveaways, and product collaborations with professional women athletes. Gen Z leans toward digital activations like social contests, while Baby Boomers and older generations favor purpose-driven efforts.
  
  

“This report reinforces what we’ve long known at Parity: athlete trust is a superpower,” says Srinivasan. “Fans don’t just watch — they believe in these pro women athletes. That authenticity is invaluable for brands, especially now as viewership across women’s sports is surging and becoming more diverse, from hoops to hockey. We’re also seeing the rise of regional fandom — new leagues and teams are rallying passionate local followings. The brands leading the way, particularly in Apparel, Health and Beauty, and Food and Beverage, are those leaning into this moment with intention. Fans have made it clear: they want athlete-led, meaningful engagement. The opportunity is wide open for brands to meet the moment — and help shape the future of women’s sports.”

The survey, powered by SurveyMonkey, was conducted April 8-11, 2025 among a national sample of 2,385 U.S. adults 18+. Respondents for this survey were selected from the more than 2 million people who take surveys on the SurveyMonkey platform each day. 

This report builds on Parity’s 2024 international fandom study and sharpens its lens on the U.S. market, providing marketers and sponsorship teams with the data-driven clarity they need to invest with confidence.

To access the US Women’s Sports Report 2025: Give the Fans What they Want, visit https://paritynow.co/report-2025-us-fan-survey.

About Parity, a Group 1001 Company
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 over 1000 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, LinkedIn, and Facebook.