The roar of women’s pride must be heard
Opinion
Now is the time for a major reset in the attitude of brands to the notion of sponsoring female sport in every sphere. It is time to address their own bias.
It is a moment none of us will forget. Chloe Kelley scoring the winning goal for the Lionesses against Germany only to rip off her shirt in triumph.
Revealing the all too familiar black Nike logo on a pristine white sports bra, she ran, and she roared.
The rest of us cheered her on, relishing the spine-tingling thrill of success for this England team. And then, inexplicably the tears started to flow.
It wasn’t just an England team. It was the women’s team.
This was bigger than football
WhatsApp messages started to ping on my phone.
“Feeling quite emotional. I’ve never played football, we didn’t have a school team, but this feels like a watershed moment for women in British culture’ and ‘I’m weeping, and I don’t even like football!”
All of us understood that this was much bigger than a brilliant game of football. It captured in an instant another massive breakthrough for women in every walk of life. And subsequently opened the door on some of the darker aspects of the journey we were less familiar with.
That image of unbridled joy was the visual embodiment of the fact that our bodies are our own. That we are so much more than lovers, mothers, and carers. That we can be professional, strong, skilled, and athletic in a game that historically actively excluded us and been reserved for men. And we saw that men and boys can be proud of what women achieve too.
Football harbours toxic masculinity
This was a tournament that was remarkably different to the men’s game in a number of ways. People have remarked on the outstanding ball skills of the players and the consistent flow of play. The match against Germany was physical and yellow cards were shown, but the aggression is more contained.
But we also noticed what was absent. There were no drunken brawls, ticketless invasions of the stadium or booing of the opposition national anthem.
Football and its fanbase has struggled with every aspect of diversity and inclusion for decades, regularly displaying the ugly violence, misogyny, racism, and homophobia we associate with toxic masculinity.
With this tournament we see again how gender equality changes culture in a positive way for everyone.
Gay icons already
Much has been made of the lack of diversity of the Lionesses. There is no doubt that the team was visibly lacking black female stars in the starting line-up.
However, over the years, people have said to me “why aren’t there any ‘out’ gay players in professional football?” and I would reply, “There are, they are in the women’s team!”
After the match Captain Leah Williamson said: “The legacy of this team is winning, and this is the start of the journey. I just can’t stop crying. We talked and we talked, and we’ve finally done it. It’s the proudest moment of my life until the day I have kids I suppose.”
Leah was not only sporting a rainbow armband, but she has also been open about her sexuality as a lesbian and is rumoured to be in a relationship with a fellow player. Until recently her aspiration to be a mother faced as much of an uphill battle of stigma and financial hardship as women’s football.
Lesbian mothers still fighting for their rights
For years, lesbians, bi women and trans people were forced to go through several rounds of expensive intrauterine insemination that cost some as much as £25,000, before being considered for NHS-funded IVF.
Just two weeks ago, as part of its new Women’s Health Strategy, the government announced that “there will no longer be a requirement for [female same-sex couples] to pay for artificial insemination to prove their fertility status”.
So, for her, and thousands of other lesbians listening who were aware of her sexuality, that remark about becoming a mother has special poignancy.
Brand reticence has built resentment
Following England’s Euro 2022 triumph, BBC commentator Alex Scott (pictured, main image, who represented England 140 times during her illustrious career) angrily called out the numerous Premier League clubs who rejected the opportunity to host matches for the tournament back in 2018.
Lack of investment has been the legacy of disdain for the women playing football, and a conscious bias in favour of male sport. The discrimination against women was actually formalised in 1921 when the FA banned women from playing on its grounds on the basis that “the sport was unsuitable for females.” A ban that lasted for 50 years.
Scott also had harsh words for reticent brands: “I had a conversation yesterday. I’m not standing up at corporate events in front of sponsors anymore begging for them to get involved in the women’s game because you know what? If you’re not involved, you’ve missed the boat, you’ve missed the train. Because look at this… it has finally left the station and it is gathering speed.”
Now is the time for a major reset in the attitude of brands to the notion of sponsoring female sport in every sphere. It is time to address their own bias.
Kudos to the brands who are already on the pitch
Nike, as Chloe Kelley so memorably reminded us all, supply the kit and have been since 2013. This year was the first-time sponsorship was offered women’s tournament as a stand-alone, rather than deals being bundled with the men’s tournament as had happened previously.
The change paid dividends and attracted big names like Visa, Heineken, Lego and Pepsi as well as the likes of Booking.com, Just Eat, Volkswagen, Adidas, Tik Tok, Starling Bank and LinkedIn. Hats off to all of them!
A canny investment not only because of the success of the England team, but also the record crowds and TV viewing figures meaning the return on investment will far exceed their original business cases.
If Alex Scott’s anger is anything to go by, those brands who are already involved have a massive opportunity to capitalise on their existing relationships. Those who come knocking on the door late can expect to pay a premium.
The game needs long term sponsorship to progress
We only have to look at the brands falling over themselves to run ads of congratulations in the immediate aftermath to know all brands like to be associated with national success.
Barclays chose to invest heavily after the success of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2019 and became the first title sponsor with a record-breaking deal of £10m.
Using Ian Wright’s voiceover in an ad they ran after the victory they rightly concluded: “But we know there’s still work to be done. In the words of @wrightyofficial ‘girls should be able to play. That’s why since 2018, we’ve been committed to making sure girls in England have equal access to football in schools by 2024.”
The government will need to play their part for access to football to become universal, but brands have an opportunity to be part of this long-term grassroots effort. The demand and audiences are growing, and momentum is there.
Massive gender pay gap
I also hope is that not only will the women in this team benefit financially by getting their well-deserved individual sponsorship deals, but that the FA will also look at their salaries.
The Lionesses’ captain, Leah Williamson is estimated to have earned £200,000 last season. In contrast, Harry Kane the England captain, earns the same amount of money Williamson earns in a year in just one week. And he’s not even the highest paid Premier League footballer.
It was reported that the Lionesses earned a £55,000 bonus per player for winning the tournament. If correct that £1.3m handout is much lower than the reported £5m pot that England’s men would have shared if they had won last summer’s Euros.
Against the backdrop of record-breaking viewing figures and growing attendance at games that level of gender pay gap will become increasingly embarrassing for the FA and must be tackled.
In fact, if I was a brand sponsor who claimed to take the gender pay gap seriously, I would try to make it a condition of involvement that it was addressed with some urgency.
Women across the country roared with pride, wept, and then shared collective anger as extensive media coverage revealed the true story of years of exclusion, underfunding, lack of opportunity in schools and pay disparity.
It makes the achievement of this team of Lionesses all the more remarkable.
Brands have been slow to engage but there is plenty to go after now to help ensure a different future for girls and women in all sport.
Jan Gooding is one of the UK’s best-known brand marketers, having worked with Aviva, BT, British Gas, Diageo and Unilever. She is now an executive coach, chair of PAMCo and Given. She writes for The Media Leader each month.