This year’s Paris 2024 Olympics showcased a remarkable 50/50 split in female and male athletes, symbolising a monumental shift in gender equality within global sports. This achievement, driven by years of International Olympic Committee (IOC) efforts, was hailed as a victory for inclusivity. However, the true reflection of this progress remained muddled in how athletes were covered by the media.
Unpacking Media Representation
As over 24,171 accredited journalists and media professionals attended Paris 2024, issues of unconscious gender bias persisted. Female athletes were often framed by personal narratives—appearance, family, or emotional struggles—while male athletes typically received detailed analysis of their performance. This disparity underscored how far journalism still has to go in terms of equal treatment.
Athletes such as sprinter Dina Asher-Smith and swimmer Katie Ledecky had moments of brilliance. Asher-Smith, the British sprinter, reached the finals in both the 100m and 200m events and also won a silver medal in the 4x100m relay, proving her strength after injuries. However, post-race coverage leaned heavily on her emotional interview about personal challenges, sidelining her athletic performance. Meanwhile, Ledecky clinched gold medals in the 800m and 1500m freestyle, along with silver medals in the 400m freestyle and the 4x200m freestyle relay, breaking new records! Despite her remarkable achievements, the media often emphasised her career longevity over her historic accomplishments.
Examining Equality in Sports Media
Despite significant advancements in equality on the field, the representation of women within the media at the Olympics remains skewed. Women represent a small fraction of those hired as journalists, broadcasters, and decision-makers to cover the Games. In the press category, 23% of journalists sent by media organisations were female, a slight increase from 20% at Tokyo 2020. This does not reflect the industry as a whole but rather highlights the hiring practices at this particular event. Media leadership remains predominantly male, impacting the stories told and reinforcing a cycle where female perspectives are often underrepresented.
In the broadcast category, the percentage of female representation among both Media Rights-Holders (MRHs) and Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) increased as well, resulting in a 26% female and 74% male split. OBS took a number of initiatives to increase female representation in its team, including hiring more women for key broadcast operational roles. At Paris 2024, female commentators represented 37% of the total, approximately double the number at Tokyo 2020.
Other highlights of these initiatives include:
The Olympic Commentary Training programme aimed to equip former Olympians and Paralympians with practical commentary skills, resulting in 49% of commentators being former athletes, with over half being women.
The “Framing the Future” initiative focused on increasing the number of women as camera operators, successfully training over 70 female camera operators in Paris.
The OBS Broadcast Training Programme (BTP) provided local students with hands-on experience, with 57% of selected students being women.
Advocates argue for mentorship, support networks, and targeted recruitment in journalism to encourage more women to join the field. With diverse media voices, coverage of female athletes could shift to more performance-driven narratives, akin to their male counterparts, and help foster the next generation of athletes and journalists alike.
Advocating for Change
The IOC is actively pushing for gender equality through initiatives like the Gender Equality Review Project. Chair Marisol Casado stated, “While we have seen improvements in gender equality in sport, we need more, and quickly. We can’t just arrive at 50-50 representation in competition and say the job is done.” The project has proposed 25 recommendations aimed at fostering substantial change, emphasising the need to eliminate gender bias in media portrayals and decision-making processes
United in Progress
My experience as a brand activation host reflects this ongoing journey. As the only female in a twenty-person team, I was fortunate to be surrounded by an incredibly supportive group, yet it was daunting. The stories from female counterparts at other events often didn’t fill me with confidence, but I cherished the unforgettable moments I had—these memories will forever be part of my history.
As Paris 2024 shines a spotlight on the achievements of female athletes, it also raises urgent questions about how these stories are told. While the gender balance among competitors was ground breaking, media coverage still showed signs of ingrained bias, reminding us that equality in sports is more than just numbers—it’s about the stories we tell and how we tell them. For true progress, the media must match the level of parity achieved on the Olympic stage. The finish line is still distant, but the strides are undeniable.
If we’re to achieve full equality, the momentum needs to continue—on and off the field.
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