Australian Women Struggling To Land Sponsors Despite Olympic Success

Despite 22 of Australia's 35 Olympic medals in London hanging around the necks of women, "females in sport are still lagging behind their male counterparts when it comes to securing sponsors," according to Elise Scott of the AAP. Last year, "just two of Australia's top 50 highest earners in sport were women," with the top female earner, tennis player Samantha Stosur, bringing in A$11M ($11.4M) less than the highest male earner. Stosur's $2.5M pay packet "landed her at 20 on the BRW sports rich list." Last month, Australian Gold Medalist hurdler Sally Pearson indicated on Twitter that despite bringing home Olympic gold for the 100m hurdles in London, "her gold coins are becoming scarcer." Pearson tweeted in February, "Can't believe I would actually lose sponsors rather than gain them after winning the Olympic Games." Sports sociologist and author Dr. David Rowe said that "the disparity in sponsorship between men and women in sport had historical roots." Rowe: "You need attention to acquire the sponsorship. How do you get the attention? You get on TV. How do you get on TV? Well, you're an established male sport" (AAP, 3/15).