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Risa Isard, Ph.D.October 16, 2025 at 9:30 AM1 min read

What Latina Athletes Told Us: Honoring Identity, Exposing Inequity

What Latina Athletes Told Us: Honoring Identity, Exposing Inequity
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Quick Facts:

  • 61% of Latina athletes don't earn a net income from their sport, slightly higher than the 49% of other women athletes
  • 93% of  Latina athletes report feeling stress about their finances, and 63% work another job during season to make ends meet
  • Less than 40% of Latina athletes have the financial resources to prepare for their future, and 63% do not have a retirement plan
  • 54% of Latina athletes said a $5k brand deal would be "life-changing" or "very meaningful"
  • 90% of Latina athletes feel hopeful that the economics of being a woman athletes will improve in the next 5 years

 

tatiana-calderon-colombiaSource: Tatiana Calderon

 

Across women’s sports, every athlete has her own story. 

The story is what makes women athletes both compelling role models and effective brand partners. Each is a reflection of how an athlete brings their full self – culture, community, and more – to the game. It’s personal, weaving together discovering a passion for sport and the journey to make that sport one’s own. 

 

While Hispanic Heritage Month technically wrapped yesterday, we remain proud to amplify the voices of professional Latina athletes and hope that their stories can continue to make waves for the next 11 months.

 

The below insights come from the data Parity collected from 500 professional women athletes as part of our report Beyond the Game: Exposing the Economic Realities of Pro Women Athletes. We are grateful for the athletes who shared their stories with us, so that we can share them with you.

 

Hispanic Heritage Month_v7

 

 

Whether it’s a shared culture or a shared hobby (or pet!), professional Latina athletes can help brands connect with consumers. Parity can help you find the right athlete and story for your audience. 

 

 

Learn more about Parity’s community below:

 

Latina Dashboard_v2 (1)

 

 

 

 

About Parity, a Group 1001 Company
Parity is the leading platform for professional women athlete partnerships. With a mission to close the gender income gap in sports and beyond, Parity connects brands with a diverse network of more than 1,100 women athletes from 85 sports. Through sponsorship activations, content collaborations, and strategic advisory, Parity helps brands authentically engage the most trusted voices in sports today. For more information, visit www.paritynow.co, or follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn.
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Risa Isard, Ph.D.

Risa Isard, Ph.D., leads Parity’s research and insights work, transforming data into narratives that help brands invest meaningfully in women’s sports. With more than 15 years of experience spanning professional and collegiate sport organizations, academia, and think tanks, Risa brings deep expertise and a lifelong commitment to equity in sport. Her research has been featured in The New York Times, Sports Business Journal, The Atlantic, and CNN, and presented at SXSW and the ESPYs. Before joining Parity, Risa was a sport management professor at the University of Connecticut and worked at the Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society Program. She earned her Ph.D. in Sport Management from UMass Amherst and her B.A. from Duke University. A passionate amateur athlete, Risa can often be found running, surfing, or playing pickleball, and making sure women’s basketball is always on the screen at home.

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