The female economy isn't niche - It's the growth engine

For decades, the technology sector operated under a "default male" bias. From early crash-test dummies to the first iterations of fitness tracking algorithms, products were built for one physiology and then "adjusted" for women. But as we celebrate International Women's Day 2026, the tech industry is facing a long-overdue reckoning: women are no longer a secondary market. They are the primary engine of growth in the digital fitness and gaming sectors. 

For tech leaders, the shift from awareness to true digital equity isn't just a social imperative; it is a fundamental business strategy. 

At Zwift, we have seen that when you build a platform that respects the unique experiences and motivations of women, the user base responds. Following the launch of major female-focused digital initiatives, and our groundbreaking partnership with the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, we've seen meaningful momentum. Female representation among new subscribers grew to 23% in 2025, up from 18% in 2022. That's real progress. It reflects intentional investment, bold partnerships, and a commitment to showing up differently for women in cycling. 

This growth isn't accidental. It is the result of intentional "Design with Insight" - a commitment to understanding the specific barriers women face in digital spaces. In 2026, a "women's strategy" is not just a corporate social responsibility initiative; it is a clear commercial opportunity. For any SaaS or gaming platform, ignoring the specific UI/UX needs of half the population is simply leaving revenue on the table. 

One of the most profound shifts in women's sports and tech has been the democratization of visibility. Historically, women's professional cycling suffered from a lack of investment and media exposure. Digital platforms have changed that by providing a "direct-to-consumer" sporting product. 

In 2025, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift saw 8000 hours broadcast worldwide with 148 million hours viewed. This is an 80% year on year increase from 2024. This level of engagement was once impossible under traditional broadcast models. However, technology has allowed us to bypass these legacy gatekeepers. 

Social platform engagement with the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift has also increased. In 2022, the first year of the race, there were 209k followers across the race's social accounts. In 2025, that number was 3.16 million, with 200 million video views and 6.7 million engagements. 

For the tech industry, the lesson is clear: digital transformation is the ultimate equaliser. When you provide ease of access to live coverage and interactive communities, fandom and the associated digital economy accelerates.

Despite significant global gains, there is still substantial work to do in how we handle female biometric data and social engagement. Our research shows that in the US, 36% of potential fans don't engage with women's sports simply because they don't know where to find them. 

This "visibility gap" is even more pronounced in Australia, where 40% of fans who want to watch women's sports state they "often forget or don't know it is on."

Even in the UK, where 2025 saw a record 48 million viewers tune in, the Women's Sport Trust emphasises that "clear signposting" remains the final hurdle to converting major event interest into regular viewing habits. 

In response, women have built their own digital ecosystems that bypass traditional gatekeepers. While traditional TV remains the primary medium for men's sports, women's sports fans rely heavily on social platforms: 

• In the US: 45% use Instagram and 49% use YouTube to follow their favourite athletes. 
• In Australia: Engagement via social media has surged to 41%, and a staggering 54% of all fan interaction now happens "beyond-the-live" windows through highlights and community hubs. 
• In the UK: Digital growth is outpacing broadcast, with a 105% rise in TikTok views and an 84% increase on YouTube in early 2025 alone. 

Crucially, this ecosystem is driven by the athletes themselves; in the UK's Women's Super League, player accounts drive 35% of total engagement, significantly outperforming the 27% seen in men's equivalents. This global dependency on "social-first" consumption is a clear signal to tech developers: the next generation of sports tech must be social, interactive, and community-driven. 

As we look toward the future, the goal for women in tech is not just to be users of the platform, but to be the architects of it. We must continue to invest in development programs that shape the next generation of female athletes and technologists. 

The data is clear: women's participation in cycling is rising, with a 20% increase in activity logged by women on platforms like Strava since 2019. This is a massive, energized and tech-literate audience. 

To my fellow leaders in the tech space: 2026 is the year to stop viewing "women in tech" as a diversity metric and start viewing them as a valuable user base that deserves to be listened to and products designed for. The future of the digital economy doesn't just happen. We build it together.