What rights holders can learn from the latest women’s sponsorship trends in terms of who to target for future sponsorship growth

caytoo’s latest report analysed nearly 10,000 sponsorship deals signed since the start of 2023 to compare how deals involving women’s-only rights holders (“WoRH”) compares to the rest, and the most appropriate categories to target for future sponsorship growth.

The report also includes  15 brands worth pitching or generating relationships with now due to being engaged with women’s rights holders and/or looking to promote gender equality.

Most prevalent sponsors

Consumer Goods has overtaken Financial Services as the most common sponsor across WoRH so far in 2025, accounting for 16.2% of deals in the space. This has been led by a sharp increase in deals by Personal Goods brands, particularly cosmetics and beauty brands.

In terms of growth, Health & Wellbeing and Retail/Ecommerce categories are steadily increasing investment, reflecting their focus on engaging female audiences and a relevance to their lifestyles. The Media & Entertainment category is also starting to play a bigger role, creating potential for WoRH to offer content-led activations.

It’s also worth looking at the Education, Real Estate, and Transport categories as they are the most likely ones to choose WoRH versus any other types of rights. This positive bias reflects their alignment with community and lifestyle themes.

Most prevalent subcategories

Section only available in full women’s sponsorship trends report.

Why sponsors choose WoHR

Sponsors are drawn by a combination of the ability to showcase they’re a force for good in society (aka Social Impact) through purpose-driven activities as well as promoting certain values they share with the rights holder.

However, at the other end of the scale, sponsors are much less likely to undertake WoRH deals versus any other type of deal to generate brand awareness. This suggests that WoRH are seen as a platform primarily to achieve purpose-led, values-based objectives rather than ‘hard’ business outcomes.

However, Social Impact as the main reason for doing deals has become less prevalent across sponsorship as a whole as businesses require more commercial-driven results rather than engaging in ‘corporate philanthropy’. Therefore, a challenge for WoRH in the future will be having to show how they can deliver more commercial metrics rather than just a positive PR story.

The 15 brands to target

Brands only available in full women’s sponsorship trends report.