I can't stop reading the website now- I just found a report talking about gender parity and the role that sport can play and has a big section about the link between Olympic medals won and the societal role of women in the country
"Past research has concluded that Olympic success results from
a country’s income or size, plus other factors such as Olympic
host advantage and being under a communist regime. But this
is not the whole story. Whether a female athlete participates
in the Games or wins a medal “is a more complex product
of a country’s socio-economic environment,” the Peterson
researchers say. In fact, using the 2012 Olympics as an
example, a slight uptick in the level of female schooling would
result in the inclusion of eight more women athletes and bring
home eight more medals in female events."
It also matters what people think about women’s place in
society and the workplace. For example, comparing Olympic
outcomes against cross-country surveys, the researchers found that when respondents believe marriage is more satisfying when both partners work, there is an increase in the number of medals that women win. Conversely, when there is
an increase in respondents who believe university education is more important for a boy than a girl, there is a drop in the number of medals won. "
http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAsset ... -espnw.pdf