Parity Week kicks off at the Billie Jean King Cup
The GIST: Equal pay milestones are still being smashed in BJK’s name — this week’s BJK Cup Finals in Seville, Spain boasts a record $9.6M prize purse. For the second consecutive year, the earnings from the World Cup of women’s tennis are on par with the Davis Cup, the men’s equivalent. This is what parity looks like.
The partners: At the buzzer, the BJK Cup signed Spanish renewable energy company Iberdrola as its official energy partner, joining a stacked roster that includes Gainbridge, Microsoft, Magellan, and Tory Burch.
- The partnership expands Iberdrola’s expansive women’s sports portfolio — the company supports Spain’s BJK Cup team, former world No. 2 Paula Badosa, Spain’s Olympic and Paralympic committees, and its national women’s soccer team. ¡Olé!
Parity Week: The BJK Cup is one of three flagship events during Parity Week, which honors trailblazing athletes King, Annika Sörenstam, and Lyn St. James. Gainbridge — which allocates 40% of sponsorship dollars to women’s sports annually — created Parity Week to collectively market these events during a busy week on the sports calendar.
- Parity Week features a motorsport event and the LPGA’s The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, which has a $3.25M total purse — the largest outside of the majors and the CME Group Tour Championship. Through Parity Week’s golf and tennis tournaments, Gainbridge supports 180 athletes competing for $12.85M.
The trend: The fintech company is adding to a paradigm shift in women’s sports sponsorships, like Ally’s multimillion Disney deal placing 90% ad buy on women’s sports and its Women’s Sports Club driving Fortune 100 sponsorship. The finance sector clearly knows where the money’s at, and they’re cashing in.
