In the world of sports media, there is a persisting imbalance of women not being represented. The voices of female journalists are still too rare on the sidelines, in press boxes, and on sports desks despite the improvements in gender equality.
While it has been a societal trend for women to cover women’s sports and vice versa due to the demographic and successful marketing dynamics, it allows for stereotypes. Those stereotypes gain traction in that viewers can see a man reporting on baseball and don’t even think of the possibility that a woman could be doing that same job. There are fans who simply just don’t notice the gender gap and feel that the status of women in sports has much improved from years prior, which is in ways true. Dedicated sports fan Bob Kreisich agrees with this in that his initial reaction was, “Really? Honestly I’ve not noticed that too much. There’s always a woman on the sideline”. Some might also argue that the focus should be on talent rather than gender, and not to hire just for representation purposes, but it’s important to recognize that women want to be hired because they’re qualified. They can still be very suited for a job in football or baseball even though it might be considered a male sport.
According to The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES), as of 2021, the total percentage of women sports reporters was 14.4%, and the total percentage of women sports editors was 16.7%. This lack of representation limits the perspectives shared and possibly deters young women who aspire to cover sports. When talking to Central Bucks high school student Jordan Pollner about going into journalism, she explained her insecurities, “It’s sometimes hard to see myself in this field because I don’t usually see many women represented. It’s definitely intimidating”.
Change is happening with time, but the ones doing what they can to make progress are inspiring. The NFL is continually working to incorporate more women into football. In 2022, Erin Andrews, a football sideline reporter for Fox Sports, expressed how the NFL has welcomed more women into the game, “I appreciate the NFL being so open to the change. I appreciate the players, the male coaches that are willing to say, hey, let’s shake it up a bit. Let’s add some women to this highly-successful and powerful league and I think we’re off to a great start.” That was two years ago, and since then, the NFL has continued to bring the mission to light through their Women’s Community. Organizations like The Association for Women in Sports Media have also made waves with their successful foundations and commitment to advocating for women in sports media. Since 1990, they have put more than 200 female college students in paid summer internships dealing with sportswriting, broadcasting, social media, and media relations. As groups continue to grow, there is more room for women to feel confident in a sports job.
By creating an environment in sports media where women can thrive just as much as men, the gender gap has the potential to diminish and allow women to have the same opportunities.
Sources:
http://awsmonline.org/we-are-awsm
https://operations.nfl.com/journey-to-the-nfl/nfl-women-s-community/
https://www.theechonews.com/article/2024/02/does-sports-journalism-have-an-equal-playing-field
