Online platform empahises importance of sponsoring women’s sports
The aim was to present a roadmap aimed at practical steps to help close the gender pay gap.
In light of Banyana Banyana’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nation win and South African women’s sports lacking sponsors, gsport4girls held a breakfast to present a commercial roadmap with practical steps to help close the gender pay gap and ensure that sportswomen are fairly remunerated.
Speaking at Imperial Wanderers Stadium on July 29, gsport4girls founder, Kass Naidoo said the online platform came about due to lack of women sport stories online.
“Until 2006, South African women’s sport had virtually no public profile. The landscape changed in August 2006 with the launch of gsport4girls, an online initiative committed to daily coverage of women’s sport to bridge the gap with men’s sport.”
Founder of the Systemic Stairway, Dr Julian Day described the stairway as a formula or map that would help ensure women in sports were supported in the form of sponsors. “It works as a collaborative effort, it’s trying to get a conversation going across all stakeholders in women sports.”
Day encouraged the audience to take action to progress their vision for women’s sport. “This systematic stairway methodology is one that allows us and the broader women in sport landscape to show support and see through necessary investment.”
Broadcaster Lebohang Motsoeli said companies made sending proposals for sponsorships seem easy, but in theory it was not an easy process.
Motsoeli queried that women athletes should not have to constantly prove their need for financial sponsorship in the corporate sector.
Managing director of Nielsen Sports South Africa shared key insights on the business of women’s sport and the progress being made.
“We are really entering an era where strategic investment in women’s sport is providing exceptional value to brands. Fans are interested in women’s sports and trust brand sponsorships through the relevant sponsorship of athletes. As brands, we need to be ambitious bold and brave.”
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