Deloitte and Billie Jean King Partner to Reform Women's Sports Pipeline

The partnership, unveiled at the Power of Women's Sports Summit in New York, focuses on the professional pipeline that often fractures during adolescence. Data from the Women's Sports Foundation indicates that girls abandon organized sports at twice the rate of boys, often between ages 13 and 14. Furthermore, the coaching landscape has shifted significantly; while 90% of women's teams were led by female coaches in 1972, that figure has plummeted to 41% today.

Deloitte intends to deploy its consulting resources across three primary channels: leadership development, business infrastructure, and marketplace connectivity. The initiative seeks to translate athletic discipline into boardroom competency, a correlation supported by internal research showing that 91% of women in leadership roles credit their career success to skills honed in sports. Beyond professional development, the collaboration will address a critical scarcity in sports science, where only 6% of current research is dedicated to female athletes.

"Sport is one of the most powerful leadership accelerators," said Lara Abrash. "At the very moment women's sports is breaking records, too much potential is being left on the field." By integrating youth programming, coaching development, and performance data, the partners aim to formalize a career pathway that sustains talent from early competition to executive roles. For Billie Jean King, the move is an extension of her long-standing advocacy for equitable visibility, ensuring that the current commercial surge in women's sports is met with the structural support necessary for long-term growth.