Updated: September 24, 2026
Women in sports careers can build momentum by combining strong work, trusted relationships, visible results and workplaces that value their contribution. The advice below turns lessons from women across the sport industry into practical actions you can use at any career stage.
Building a career in sport can be exciting, demanding and highly competitive. For women entering or advancing in the industry, the challenge is not only finding an opening. It is also learning how organizations work, building a professional network, developing visible skills and choosing environments where your contribution can grow.
Across SPMA industry profiles, women working in sport repeatedly describe careers built through initiative, practical experience, strong relationships and a willingness to keep learning. Their paths are different, but several themes appear again and again. The most useful advice is not about trying to fit one perfect career formula. It is about becoming capable, connected and intentional about where you want to go.
1. Learn the business, not only the sport
Passion for sport can be a useful starting point, but employers hire people to solve business, operational, communication and performance problems. Learn how the department you want to join creates value. A marketing employee may need to understand campaigns, ticket demand and fan behaviour. A partnership professional needs to understand client objectives and activation. An operations employee needs to understand timelines, vendors and event-day pressure.
SPMA profiles make this point in different ways. Professionals such as Tara MacBournie of the Canadian Olympic Committee describe work that changes with the sport calendar and requires versatility. The lesson is simple: know the sport, but also know the work.
2. Build experience before the perfect title appears
Early experience does not need to come from a famous team. Campus athletics, community clubs, national sport organizations, agencies, events, media outlets and non-sport businesses can all build transferable skills. The goal is to collect evidence that you can organize, communicate, sell, analyze, write, lead or execute.
Alex Mohamed, featured by SPMA for his work with Jays Care Foundation, explained how university involvement in varsity sport and intramurals helped him add practical experience to his degree. That combination matters. A credential can open a door, but examples of real work help an employer picture you doing the job.
3. Find mentors, sponsors and peers
A mentor can offer advice, but your network should be broader than one senior person. Build relationships with peers, managers, former classmates, professors, vendors, clients and professionals in adjacent departments. Some people will teach you. Others may recommend you, share an opportunity or simply give you a more accurate view of a role.
Women can also benefit from communities where career conversations are candid. In SPMA’s profile of Jennifer Blatt, founder of Women’s Sports School, the focus was on creating access to knowledge and networks in areas where women have historically been underrepresented. The broader lesson is to intentionally seek communities that make information and opportunity easier to reach.
4. Ask for meaningful work and visibility
Do not wait indefinitely for someone to notice what you can do. Ask to contribute to a project, presentation, event, research assignment, client meeting or cross-functional initiative. The purpose is not to collect attention for its own sake. It is to create opportunities to demonstrate judgment and reliability.
Visibility is strongest when it is attached to useful work. Volunteer to solve a real problem, then document the result. If you increased registrations, improved a process, helped execute an event or created a report that informed a decision, make sure the accomplishment is visible on your resume and in performance conversations.
5. Develop a voice and use it
Speaking up does not mean dominating every meeting. It means preparing well enough to contribute when your knowledge is relevant. Ask questions, offer an idea, summarize a risk, or suggest a next step. The ability to communicate clearly is valuable in almost every part of the sport business.
SPMA’s coverage of women in sport has repeatedly highlighted the importance of voice and representation. In the season-one finale of The SnaP, a lesson from Coaching Association of Canada CEO Lorraine Lafreniere emphasized the importance of women having a strong voice. Confidence grows through preparation and repetition, so use smaller moments to practice before the high-stakes ones arrive.
6. Choose workplaces carefully
A recognizable logo is not the only measure of a good job. Pay attention to who receives stretch assignments, how managers give feedback, whether leadership teams are diverse, how employees are treated during busy periods and whether the organization invests in development. Interviews are also your opportunity to evaluate the employer.
Ask specific questions about the team. How are responsibilities assigned? What does success look like in the first six months? How does the organization support professional development? Who will you work with most closely? The answers can tell you far more than a generic culture statement.
7. Make your work portable
Sport careers can be fluid. Teams change structures, seasons end, contracts expire and business priorities move quickly. Build skills and work samples that remain valuable even if your organization changes. Writing, analytics, sales, project management, digital marketing, research, presentation and stakeholder management can move across sports and employers.
This is also why a portfolio matters. Keep non-confidential examples of presentations, reports, campaign summaries, event plans, writing samples or dashboards. You should be able to explain what problem you were solving, what you personally did and what happened as a result.
8. Negotiate with information
Career growth includes compensation, title, scope, flexibility, learning opportunities and access to decision-making. Before accepting a role or discussing advancement, research comparable positions and understand the responsibilities being assigned. Ask for clarity rather than relying on assumptions.
Negotiation is easier when you can connect your request to evidence. Track the projects you own, revenue you influence, processes you improve, audiences you grow and responsibilities that have expanded. A clear record of contribution strengthens conversations about pay and progression.
9. Help other women once you have access
Career progress becomes more meaningful when knowledge travels. Share openings, introduce qualified people, explain unwritten processes and recommend women for visible opportunities when you genuinely believe they are ready. Small acts of access can change a career.
Kara Anthony’s SPMA profile about female participation at Golf Canada discussed the value of role models, female-focused opportunities and seeing women in leadership. The same principle applies inside the workplace. Representation becomes more sustainable when people already inside the industry help widen the pipeline.
Turn advice into a career plan
Pick one department you want to understand better, one skill you want to strengthen and three people you can learn from over the next 90 days. Then create evidence of progress. Complete a project, attend an industry event, request feedback or add a portfolio sample. Career development becomes less overwhelming when it is converted into a small number of actions.
Use SPMA’s resource hub to compare career paths, read industry profiles and explore how people across sport built their careers. Then use Sports Hired to connect what you learned with current opportunities.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best sports careers for women?
There is no single best path. Women work across operations, marketing, sales, communications, analytics, coaching, broadcasting, athlete development, finance, partnerships, legal, human resources and executive leadership. The better question is which role matches your strengths and the kind of work you want to do.
Do women need a sport management degree to work in sports?
No. SPMA profiles include professionals with sport management degrees and others who studied communications, business, health, political science and other subjects. Relevant experience, transferable skills and evidence of strong work can be as important as the exact degree title.
How can women build a network in sports?
Start with people in the department you want to understand, ask specific questions, follow their work and maintain the relationship over time. Peer relationships are important too. Networking works best when it is based on genuine learning and mutual professional value rather than asking strangers for jobs.
Keep Building Your Sport Career
Use these related SPMA resources to keep building practical knowledge and turn this advice into action.
- how to build a network in sport
- sport management resume tips
- whether sport management is a good major
The people learning about sport careers here could be your next applicants.
Turn your next opening into a professional Sports Hired listing and give candidates a clear path from career research to your opportunity.
