Women spend more money than men on athletic footwear, apparel, and accessories than men. For many large companies in the industry, it is a 60/40 mix and growing further apart as women gain more purchasing power and dictate how household funds are spent.
Want to know something that most of the boys here at LRC don't want to hear? Women engage in more sports and fitness activities than men. They mix it up too. A woman is more likely to run, do yoga or Pilates, attend spin class, and go for walks in the same week. She also buys gear for each of those activities and justifies the expenditure. Contrast that with most men that do only one sport until they burnout or get hurt. They buy one pair of shoes, two shirts, and two shorts and then wear them into the ground. The other reason men are declining in importance? The substantially large percentage of them that elect to play video games and don't exercise at all. Spending all of your free time on Fortnite and Madden NFL 20 doesn't require shoes or technical fabrics.
New Balance knows the future direction of the marketplace and is spending sponsorship/influencer funds accordingly.