Summer is ending, but one of its big phenomena – a girl-powered economy – has some staying power.

Having buoyed the U.S. economy amid recession worries, Taylor Swift is taking her Eras Tour global – to Argentina and Brazil this fall. Beyoncé is holding up the homefront with her Renaissance World Tour in Texas this month. “Barbie” is still going strong as this year’s most successful movie (sorry “Oppenheimer”), with revenue outside the United States exceeding its home-country cash harvest. 

It goes beyond film and music, too. Recently the University of Nebraska-Lincoln women’s volleyball team broke a global women’s sports attendance record by drawing more than 92,000 fans to a game.

But what does all this mean? 

A lot, actually. Culturally, lots of people are ready for in-person exuberance, with pandemic isolation still not far in the rearview mirror. The resulting consumer spending has modest ripple effects in local economies. And we know women have rising clout as consumers, workers, and creators, but this is an exclamation point. The Eras Tour is poised to become the first ever to top $1 billion in total revenue. 

The caveats are big. Many consumers can’t afford high-cost concerts. Many forecasters see the overall world economy slowing. And even as women have rebounded as a share of the post-pandemic workforce, gender equity remains an unfinished objective.

Yet this summer’s girl-boss economy is not just about gender, but about joy – brotherhood and sisterhood. As Inc. magazine columnist Jason Aten puts it, Ms. Swift is showing that generosity is not only good but also good for business. “She is giving her fans everything they could want from her in a concert. She's playing every song. She is being generous with her talent and her time.”