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Women athletes have leadership potential in entrepreneurship, bringing long term value to society.
Executive summary
- Women athletes have great potential in entrepreneurship, sharing many traits with successful business owners
- We can empower women athletes to move into the business world by boosting understanding of their skills and value
- Mentoring is playing a vital role in helping women athletes gain confidence, direction and knowledge to succeed in business
Athletes make great entrepreneurs. And it’s no surprise. Their character traits and winning mindset are among the characteristics found in successful business owners.
In EY’s 2017 global study, Why female athletes make winning entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs identified five attributes from professional sport that had given them an edge in launching and scaling their own enterprises:
- Confidence
- Single-mindedness
- Passion
- Leadership
- Resilience
Business owners have similar personal traits, according to a 2020 Forbes article supported by the Young Entrepreneur Council 1 , which notes their robust work ethic, deep passion, creativity, motivated self-starting, easygoing attitude and eagerness to learn.
Women athletes who have become successful entrepreneurs show us what is possible. For example, Yumi Tomei is an Olympian and former Japan national team soccer player who set up business consultancy Pass & Go and Marin Minamiya, the youngest person to conquer the Explorers Grand Slam — reaching the North and South Poles and climbing the Seven Summits — is the founder of management and consulting agency M Planning.
Yet only 4% of Japanese women athletes surveyed in EY’s 2020 global study, What’s beyond the field, said it had been “easy” to transition from sport to a second career, compared to one in three globally.
So, how can we encourage more Japanese women athletes to become entrepreneurs after retiring from sport? Better still, how can we foster in them a dual career mindset from the outset?
Only
of Japanese women athletes said it had been “easy” to transition from sport to a second career
Recognizing and empowering athletes
Women athletes face two main hurdles to becoming entrepreneurs: the business world seems to undervalue their potential and they don’t understand their value outside of sport.
In the aforementioned EY 2020 study, 45% of professionals said they do not understand the traits that athletes have to offer an organization. Such misunderstandings can leave women athletes without adequate support to start an enterprise, including access to business development organizations, funding and networks, as well as guidance from mentors and investors.
Women athletes, meanwhile, find it challenging to convert their sporting achievements into business excellence. They don’t see the leadership they have shown nor how their personal growth can be an ongoing asset. In short, they tend to be unaware of what they can bring to the corporate table and don’t see how their skills are transferable, never mind marketable.
The problem is more pronounced in Japan where 53% of women athletes said sport provides skills for other careers, compared to 85% globally, according to the aforementioned EY 2020 study. Reasons for the gap are unknown but factors might be economic, social and cultural.
Women’s economic participation is low in Japan, despite their high level of educational achievement. Japan ranks 120th among 156 countries on the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2021 2 . In education, the system prioritizes memorization over creativity, and there is a lack of visible role models in the media. Limited professional networks compared to other countries also tends to contribute to a lack of understanding of business potential or entrepreneurial opportunities.
Percentage of Women athletes said sport provided skills for their careers
Only
Japan
Up to
Global
Power of mentoring
At EY Women Athletes Business Network (WABN), we support women athletes to move into business or entrepreneurship after retiring from sport or as part of a dual career.
Mentoring is an important element of what we do. Via structured and comprehensive sessions, mentees receive insights from business leaders on topics ranging from understanding strengths, finding purpose and enhancing leadership skills to expanding networks, setting career goals and thinking outside the box. They also receive specific feedback and gain opportunities for knowledge-sharing and problem-solving.
The approach is working. Sixty percent of the 15-strong 2021 Global WABN Mentee Class run their own business or are interested in entrepreneurship, up from 24% in 2018.
Global WABN mentees’ interest in entrepreneurship.
Only
in 2018
Up to
in 2021
Japanese athletes on this global program have boosted their international mindset and inter-cultural understanding while attaining confidence, a sense of purpose and visionary goals. They have gained awareness of what is needed to succeed and of the business opportunities available.
Participation in the program has been a “great asset,” according to Yumi Tomei, who says her mentor gave her “the determination and knowledge to shine in the business world.”
Haruka Takashima, a former Japan national team ice hockey player, agrees, describing the time spent with her mentor as her “treasure.” Participating in the program, she adds, has given her “a more positive outlook” and “a clearer picture” of what she needs to do to achieve her goals.
In a year-end evaluation in 2020, 85% of Japan WABN members said their mentor has improved their life professionally and personally, while 73% reported gaining greater clarity on their career goals.
Bright future
In Japan, efforts to encourage women to start enterprises have gained momentum with the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals 3 , which includes gender equality. This builds on the 2019 communiqué 4 delivered to the G20 by the W20, an official engagement group that proposed women-related policy recommendations incorporating promotion of women’s entrepreneurship.
At EY, we believe that women athletes’ sporting accomplishments can be translated into business excellence. Women athletes are high achievers, influential leaders and team players who have tremendous value for the entrepreneurial ecosystem. We hope that WABN’s efforts to help them gain new ideas, explore unchartered waters and focus on finding their purpose are the baby steps that can unlock their spirit of entrepreneurship.
For inquiries on EY’s 2020 global study, please contact us at email
Aticle references
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2020/05/11/six-personality-traits-of-successful-entrepreneurs/?sh=1e7c299e70ba
- https://www.weforum.org/reports/global-gender-gap-report-2021
- https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/#:~:text=Goal%201%3A%20End%20poverty%20in,Gender%20equality%20and%20women's%20empowerment
- https://w20japan.org/en/pdf/w20_communique_en.pdf
Summary
Japan’s women athletes can find it challenging to enjoy a second or dual career in business, but the EY Women Athletes Business Network aims to ease the transition. By connecting them with a mentor to provide practical support and guidance, the initiative is working to unlock women athletes’ potential and translate their sporting accomplishments into business excellence.