Women's sports win before the Games begin: New study by Parity and SurveyMonkey reveals growing fan demand for women's Winter Olympic sports and greater gender equity at the Games
International survey shows women’s sports driving equal—and often greater—fan interest, and women athletes lead fan excitement ahead of Milano Cortina Winter Olympics
NEW YORK, February 3, 2026 – Parity, the leading platform for professional women athlete partnerships, and SurveyMonkey, the world’s most popular platform for surveys and forms, today released new international research showing that women’s sports are entering the 2026 Winter Olympics with increasing fan momentum, matching or surpassing men’s events in popularity across the majority of sports and signaling high expectations for gender equity on and off the field of play.
The study shares insights from a survey of 11,683 adults across the US, Canada, the U.K./Ireland, and Australia to better understand interest in Winter Olympic competition, perceptions of equality, and expectations for brand sponsorship investment.
Key findings of the study include:
Women’s Winter Olympic sports are more or equally as popular as men’s. Findings reveal noteworthy pre-Games enthusiasm:
- Across the surveyed countries, women’s events are more popular than or equally as popular as men’s events in 10 of 15 sports that host both competitions
- Women’s figure skating leads in outright popularity and boasts the largest differential, with a +15 percentage point advantage over men’s figure skating
- Among adults who are particularly excited about the Games, 1 in 4 (25%) plan to follow more women’s events this year than in the past
Women athletes are leading fan excitement. Interest in women’s sports is translating directly to the athletes themselves. When asked which competitors fans are most excited to follow at the upcoming Olympic Games:
- Women athletes received 55% of total mentions, compared to 45% for men
- High-profile competitors, including Lindsey Vonn, Mikaela Shiffrin, Chloe Kim, and Marie-Philip Poulin, are driving heightened anticipation and viewership
Interest in women’s sports is matched by demand for equality. Consumers are not only tuning in, they’re demanding fairness across the Olympic ecosystem.
- A majority of U.S. adults, across political affiliations, say equal treatment for men and women at the Olympic and Paralympic Games is important
- Yet the U.S. trails peer countries in strength of conviction around gender equality, with a leading 79% of adults in the U.K./Ireland agreeing equal treatment is important, compared to 59% of U.S. adults
- 51% of U.S. adults say Olympic and Paralympic sponsors should invest marketing dollars equally in men and women athletes, though many believe brands have not yet followed through, with 43% saying brands are not yet spending enough on women’s sports.
“Across countries, across sports, and across metrics, we’re seeing the same story: women’s events are holding their own, with women athletes leading fan anticipation,” said Risa Isard, director, research and insights at Parity. “It’s clear that women’s sports are central to how audiences experience the Games. This research gives the industry a concrete view of how fans and casual viewers alike are already treating women’s sports like marquee events. The opportunity now is for brands, sponsors, and the broader ecosystem to match that energy with equitable investment and visibility.”
“The data confirms that women’s sports aren’t a secondary category,” said Wendy Smith, senior manager, research science at SurveyMonkey. “They can be a primary engine of growth for companies looking to make genuine connections with consumers. Brands that make a sustained investment, use consistent storytelling, and build real infrastructure that reflects where fans already are have a real opportunity.”
In the coming weeks, Parity and SurveyMonkey will release additional research focused on the Paralympics, providing insights into fan interest, perceptions of equality, and sponsorship in adaptive sports.
For more information, please visit https://paritynow.co/womens-sports-research.
Methodology
This poll was conducted from January 15–21, 2026, with an international sample of 11,683 adults aged 18+ across the U.S., Canada, U.K./Ireland, and Australia. Respondents were selected from SurveyMonkey’s daily panel of more than 2 million users. The modeled error estimate is ±1.5 percentage points for the U.S. sample and ±2.0 points for the other countries. U.S. data were weighted to reflect age, gender, race, and geography using U.S. Census; other countries’ data were weighted for age and gender according to OECD data.
About Parity, a Group 1001 Company
Parity is the leading platform for professional women athlete partnerships. With a mission to close the gender income gap in sports and beyond, Parity connects brands with a diverse network of more than 1,400 women's sports athletes across 85+ sports, including 300+ Olympians and Paralympians, over 50 of whom will be competing in the Milano-Cortina Games. Through sponsorship activations, content collaborations, and strategic advisory, Parity helps brands authentically engage the most trusted voices in sports today. For more information, visit www.paritynow.co, or follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn.
About SurveyMonkey
SurveyMonkey is the world’s most popular platform for surveys and forms, built for business and loved by users. We combine powerful capabilities with intuitive design, effectively serving every use case, from customer experience to employee engagement, market research to payment and registration forms. With built-in research expertise and AI-powered technology, it’s like having a team of expert researchers right at your fingertips. Trusted by millions—from startups to Fortune 500 companies—SurveyMonkey helps teams gather insights and information that inspire better decisions, create experiences people love, and drive business growth. Discover how at surveymonkey.com.
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