The NCAA announced in March it had retained the law firm Kaplan Hecker & Fink to help address gaps in gender equity in sports. "There is no analogous financial reward for participation in or performance at the Division I Women's Basketball Championship," the study says. Currently, any company that wants to advertise in the women's tournament must also sign up for corporate partnerships that include the more-expensive men's tournament. The report recommended conducting "an external gender equity assessment" of the men's and women's basketball championships in five years to ensure that "gender equity is being achieved." "We will continue to review and process the recommendations in the gender equity report as we move forward to strengthen championships for all student-athletes," the statement said.

Source: CNN August 04, 2021 03:00 UTC