Progress Is Not Parity - Women Artists’ Status in Today’s Market

Image detail: Artnet, “Total Sales Value by Gender of Artworks Sold at Selected New York Fine Art Evening Auctions” and “Selected New York Fine Art Day Auctions,” 2015–2024.

Interest in women artists has become one of the most visible areas of expansion in the art market as collectors, museums, galleries, and historians continue to revisit the canon to broaden historical recognition and include a multiplicity of voices.

However, another important question is: how much of that visibility has translated into market power?

Some of the 2026 data is encouraging, but not as positive as it may first appear:

• 45% representation and 37% sales value in the gallery market

  According to the Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report 2026, women accounted for 45% of artists represented across all galleries in 2025, up from 35% in 2018. 

• Women artists are generating 44% of primary-market sales - reflecting true market parity within the primary marketplace, largely attributed to galleries and fairs.

• Across all dealers, however, female art accounted for only 37% of sales by value. Thus, representation is improving faster than pricing, and female artists remain undervalued.

• 13.8% auction market share has doubled since 2018

  The Sotheby’s/ArtTactic report shows women artists’ auction market share more than doubled from 6.2% in 2018 to 13.8% in 2024. 

  Growth is real, but the secondary market remains far from parity.

• 1,148 women artists at auction at record high

  The number of women artists represented at major auctions reached a record 1,148 in 2024, up 131.9% from 2018. That suggests broader participation, but not necessarily equal value.

• 4.7% of lots by female artists accounted for 65.6% of total sales value

  This means that the top end of the market remains highly and disproportionately concentrated around a few artists.

• 2.2% of the ultra-high end is represented by female art

  Between 2015 and 2025, only 11 of the 500 most expensive auction works (2.2%) were by women. Created by just six artists, this underscores both underrepresentation and concentration at the ultra-high end.

• 81.74% of auction records were for works by men

  A study of 65,768 contemporary artists shows men held 81.74% of auction records in this category and commanded 1.75 times the average price. The secondary market does not just reflect disparity; it amplifies it.

The takeaway: The disparity between female artists and male artists remains real and has only slightly improved over nearly two decades.

Get Informed:

• Art Basel and UBS:https://theartmarket.artbasel.com/dealers

• Art Basel:https://www.artbasel.com/stories/art-basel-and-ubs-global-art-market-report-2026-art-market-trends

• Sotheby’s / ArtTactic:https://www.sothebys.com/en/docs/pdf/insight-report-women-artists.pdf?locale=enArtnet:https://news.artnet.com/market/selling-in-broad-daylight-2623403

• MyArtBroker:https://www.myartbroker.com/investing/articles/why-women-lag-art-market

• Artsy:https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-5-ways-art-better-support-women-artists

• Barabási / Wang et al.:https://arxiv.org/pdf/2506.22103

• National Museum of Women in the Arts:https://nmwa.org/support/advocacy/get-facts/