Women Who Played Sports Are More Likely to Be Business Leaders
Originally published by AJ Hess for Fast Company
Half a century since the passage of Title IX, generations of girls who played sports have grown up and climbed the corporate ladder.
Title IX, which was enacted as part of the Education Amendments of 1972, prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools and subsequently requires that institutions provide equal athletic opportunities for both men and women. Some of the most influential women in business today played sports in their childhoods.
A 2023 Deloitte survey found that 69% of women who earn more than $100,000 per year and are in leadership roles played competitive sports—and 85% of women who played sports say the skills they developed playing sports were important to success in their professional careers.
This connection between professional success and adolescent athletics has been observed for years. For instance, in 2015, an EY and espnW survey found that 94% of women in C-suite positions played sports, 52% at the collegiate level. In fact, 80% of Fortune 500 female executives surveyed said they played sports in their earlier years.
