More women are playing and watching sport, but are still getting lapped by their male counterparts in terms of endorsements and sponsorship.
Despite many more women participating in sport and identifying as sports fans, brands are "continuing to underleverage female athletes and teams", according to a report by marketing and media company Repucom.
In a battle of the sexes comparison, Maria Sharapova, considered the most marketable player in women's tennis, earns between $US15 million and $US20 million per season in endorsements, while Roger Federer rakes in between $US40 million and $US50 million.
Media coverage is one of the reasons given for the gap with back pages of newspapers still dominated by sports favoured among men.
The report also shows that, across the globe, 76 per cent of women under the age of 50 identify as having an interest in sport, compared to 66 per cent of women who are older.
In Australia, 48 per cent of women aged 16-29 say they participated in sport at school, while 15 per cent of women aged 50-69 played sports when they were at school.
Aside from the digital revolution, the rapid rise in the importance, influence and value of female fans has been one of the most distinctive shifts in the sports marketing landscape in the last 50 years, the report said.
"This has been driven by some major societal and cultural changes around the world, and participation of women in sport, in particular at school."
"We now see the impact of a second generation of young women growing up with a much higher chance of developing an interest in sport, and female sporting celebrities providing role models who are closing the gap with non-sport celebrities and their male counterparts."
