The invisibility of women in newspaper sports coverage

What is it about?

Sports fans thrilled to women atheletes' achievements during the 2012 London Olympics as much as to men's. Yet coverage of women's sports is much lower than men's. Did the staging of the Olympics translate into a legacy that improved everyday coverage of women's sports in UK national newspapers? This research compares routine coverage of women's sports six months before the Olympics and six months after and found that, disappointingly, coverage remains below 5%.

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Why is it important?

Despite improvements in broadcasting, this study found that women's sports remains hardly visible in the press. This means that there are fewer high-profile strong and powerful women role models available to young girls, in an age when more young women than men drop out of sporting activities and there are concerns about unhealthy lifestyles and the effects of our sexualised and celebrity culture on children. The study concludes that both journalists and promoters of women's sports can do more.