Around the world, women’s sport is undergoing a seismic shift, and not just on the field of play. Today’s female athletes are also Harvard graduates, venture capitalists, activists, authors and broadcasters—renowned not only for their performances on the track, court or slopes, but for the multifaceted ways they influence culture across everything from politics and academics to economics and social media.
And that talent and tenacity is more necessary than ever. Because despite enormous strides towards gender parity, economic and social gaps still persist across sport. For instance, while the largest media rights deal in the history of women’s sport was signed by the WNBA this year, the average player still earns 80 times less than those in the men’s game. Turn to the Forbes 2026 list of highest-paid athletes, and you’ll find no female names, but look at the World Athletics report on online abuse at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and you’ll find that 87% of it was directed at female athletes, with Black women disproportionately affected.
