Olympic boxing champion Nicola Adams has reignited the conversation around gender equality in sports. She declared that despite recent victories for women’s athletics, “the fight is not over” when it comes to achieving true parity across all disciplines.
The 42-year-old made history as the first female boxer to claim Olympic gold at London 2012 before securing a second title in Rio 2016.
“I still don’t feel like the fight’s over, because women still have to work twice as hard and still don’t receive the same amount of pay as their male counterparts,” Adams told the Daily Mail. “So it’s trying to get them up to the level where they’re seen more of an equal. Equal payment, equal treatment. I mean, come on, we just won the Euros back-to-back. I don’t even know when the last time the guys won the Euros was.”
Adams’ timing is particularly poignant, coming after Sarina Wiegman’s team secured their second consecutive European title with a dramatic 3-1 penalty victory over Spain in Basel, Switzerland.
While England’s national women’s team began receiving equal pay to their male counterparts in 2020, significant salary gaps remain at club level across most sports. Adams emphasized that the recent successes should serve as a catalyst for systemic change rather than a reason for complacency.
The retired boxer, who finished her career undefeated while holding the World Boxing Organization female title, acknowledged the progress made in recent years but stressed the need for continued advocacy. “We’ve made so much progress. But I think there still needs to be more platforms, I feel like more sponsorship opportunities for women in sport, even though there is more than what there was 10 years ago,” she explained.
Adams also addressed the disconnect between current sponsorship strategies and their target audiences, particularly in women’s sports. “I think we need to change the way that the sponsorship and everything, and who they’re aiming the sponsorship at. If I take football for an example, it’s very much still like the sports betting companies. A lot of the majority of women, I feel like aren’t really interested in stuff like that,” she observed.
Her solution involves a more strategic approach to partnerships that would better resonate with female audiences. “I feel like the sponsorship needs to be tailored to see if we’re going to get more women watching women’s sport and supporting women’s sport. I feel like the sponsorships need to be things that women are actually interested in, and so they’re more likely to invest in it too.”
The champion’s advocacy extends beyond sports equality to broader health and social issues. She has been actively supporting the Health Equals campaign, which addresses toxic air quality across England, Scotland and Wales. The initiative has identified that 12 million children face risks of serious long-term health problems, including respiratory conditions and increased cardiovascular disease risk.
“As someone who’s spent years pushing my body to its limits as an athlete, I know firsthand how much the quality of air we breathe matters, and then beyond that, I’m also a parent,” Adams said, connecting her athletic experience to her role as a mother concerned about environmental health impacts.
Adams’ call for equality comes at a time when women’s sports are experiencing unprecedented growth in viewership and commercial interest. The Lionesses’ recent win was celebrated with a victory parade down The Mall, where thousands of supporters gathered to honor the team’s historic achievement.
Captain Leah Williamson was visibly emotional during the celebrations, and described the experience as a “fairytale.” She said: “I’ve been crying all the way down the Mall. It’s unbelievable. It’s one of the best things we’ve ever been a part of.”
Despite such moments of celebration and recognition, Adams maintains that structural inequalities require sustained attention and action.
