The Business Case For Women's Sports

In episode #181 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline sat down with Dr. Risa Isard, the Director of Research & Insights at Parity, and Emma Schieck, a 2x Paralympic Gold Medalist in sitting volleyball and an Athlete Sales Representative at Parity. 

Parity just released new research in partnership with SurveyMonkey to better understand Paralympic fandom – and what it means for women athletes and brands. 

The key findings include: 

36% of U.S. Winter Paralympic fans plan to follow the Games more this year than in the past.

Women’s sports fans are more likely to watch the Paralympics than men’s sports fans.

24% of U.S. Winter Paralympic fans have made a purchase because of Paralympic sponsorships.

In this episode, learn more about the data behind Paralympic fandom, the untapped opportunity for brands, and why women’s sports fans are emerging as one of the most important audiences driving growth for the Paralympic movement. 

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In episode #180 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline sits down with Dean Astrid Sheil and Justine Pouravelis from Simmons University – the leaders behind the nation’s first Master’s of Management degree focused on the business of women’s professional sports.
This first-of-its-kind program was created to fill a decades-long gender gap in sports management education, giving women the academic foundation, industry insight, and confidence needed to lead in a rapidly scaling women’s sports economy.
One of the program’s most distinctive features is its powerhouse Advisory Board, made up of industry leaders from the PWHL, Bleacher Report, DraftKings, KLUTCH Sports, the NC Courage ownership group, and more – intentionally bridging the gap between academia and the real-world needs of the women’s sports industry.
In this episode, hear:
Why women’s sports deserve its own academic pathway.
The role academia plays in building confidence and leadership pipelines.
Why this moment is exactly the right time to invest in women’s sports and launch this program at Simmons University. 
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In episode #179 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline sits down with Megan Hughes Allison, the President of underdog venture team – a next-generation sports marketing and live-events agency built to challenge the status quo.
At underdog, Megan & her team are helping brands, leagues, and innovators reimagine the sports industry through a challenger mindset – with women’s sports as a key fixture of their mission.
In this episode, Megan shares:
💪 Why underdog venture team is betting big on women’s sports as an undervalued, high-potential marketplace.
📈 The key white-space opportunities brands should be leaning into right now.
🤝 How agencies and investors can ensure long-term, sustainable growth in women’s sports.
💡 Why “being an underdog” can be an advantage in business – and in life.
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In episode #178 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline meets Jilyne Jarvis, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of ZGiRLS, which is a nonprofit that offers a confidence-building program for girls ages 11-14 from female professional athletes and Olympians.
At ZGiRLS, the belief is simple: confidence is a skill, and every girl deserves the chance to build it.💪
The team at ZGiRLS believes that girls aren’t born doubting themselves, but somewhere along the way, many start to. 
Through a curriculum co-created by Olympians, psychologists, and mental-health experts, ZGiRLS gives girls tools to understand and navigate their thoughts, build a growth mindset, and advocate for themselves while communicating what they need.
In this episode, hear Jilyne share more about the work of ZGiRLS, why the program is so effective being delivered by professional & Olympic female athletes, and how ZGiRLS uses sport as a lens to build confidence that carries into every facet of life.⚡️
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In episode #177 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline sits down with David Brickley, CEO & Founder of STN Digital to dig into the organization’s brand-new WNBA Social Rankings & Insights Report created in partnership with Zoomph.
After witnessing the WNBA’s incredible growth across social media, STN Digital and Zoomph teamed up to quantify the league’s digital impact, analyzing more than 20,000 pieces of team content from the 2025 season to reveal which clubs and campaigns drove the most engagement, impressions, and media value.
Highlights from the report include:
💥 Indiana Fever ranked No. 1: $55.04M Social Value, 38.73M engagements, 1.17B impressions.
🚀 Dallas Wings led all teams in growth: +505% engagements, +251% impressions, +344% Social Value YoY.
🖼️ Static > Video on X & Facebook: photo posts nearly doubled engagement.
🔁 WNBA x NBA collabs soared: 5 of the top 6 Instagram team posts were crossover moments.
In this episode, hear Caroline & David discuss the report’s findings and talk about why the WNBA’s social impact is yet another proof point the league is trending up.📈
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