Incredible record breaking moments continue to unfold in athletics, yet women’s sports remain vastly underrepresented in broadcast time and media attention. Despite the passion and talent on display, female athletes are often overlooked or overshadowed by men in the same field.
The 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship was held on April 7 and was part of March Madness, a competitive single-elimination tournament for collegiate basketball. The Iowa Hawkeyes versus South Carolina Gamecocks game averaged nearly 19 million viewers, surpassing the viewership of the men’s tournament and that year’s NBA Finals. Still, women’s sports do not get enough recognition.
Caitlin Clark, a point guard on the Indiana Fever and former member of the Iowa Women’s Basketball team, has helped skyrocket the attention, attendance, and awareness of women’s basketball. She draws in a buzz from fans worldwide while she breaks records, like becoming the all time female career scorer in the NCAA and earning the most points by a point guard in a WBNA season. This “Caitlin Clark Effect” has put women’s sports on the radar for many, but she is not the only one.
In 2023, the Nebraska Huskers Women’s Volleyball team set a record for the largest crowd to ever watch a women’s sporting event in the United States, with over 92,003 fans at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. And, 3.4 million viewers saw Coco Gauff’s victory in the 2023 U.S. Open, the most watched Major Women’s Championship ever on ESPN. Zoe Cole ’25, captain of the riding team, thinks that “it is so amazing to see all the younger girls look up to really cool women as it really motivates and inspires them in their own endeavors.”
In the past couple of years, there has been unprecedented growth in women’s sports, and it is so crucial to continue to uplift female athletes. However, structural inequities, discrimination, and stigmatization within the athletics field discourage many women. According to UNESCO, “traditional gender norms dominate the way women athletes are portrayed [and] women’s sports only receive 4% of all sports media coverage even though 40% of all sports participants are women.” This imbalance affects long term visibility, pay equity, and youth participation rates. Therefore, it is important to advocate for women’s sports to sustain momentum that impacts the younger generation, especially young girls who are looking for mentorship and role models in their sports.
The Women’s Sports Foundation claims that girls “lack access…to opportunities to play in high school” as compared to boys and “are bombarded with images of external beauty” that are not always conducive to building strong muscle and physical health. In fact, female athletes are often seen as masculine and competitive, detering young girls from pursuing sports altogether. This perception not only limits their opportunities, but also reinforces harmful gender stereotypes. Instead of celebrating strength, discipline, and hard work, society often labels these qualities as unfeminine when exhibited by a woman. As a result, many girls grow up believing that to be accepted, they must stay skinny and small, rather than take up space on the field.
Katie Field ’25, captain of the Varsity Softball team at Dana Hall, says, “I’ve seen the importance of the positive impacts seeing women in the media has on young girls’ mental and physical health. Continuing to thrive in sports is so important for many women and can only happen if people realize the skill and strength it takes. Most people have never taken the time to watch women’s sports, and don’t realize it is just as entertaining as men’s sports. This is why everyone should make an effort to learn more about female representation in sports.”
Continued support from fans, media outlets, and sponsors is essential to ensure that this surge in attention translates to lasting structural change. Increased visibility correlates with more benefits, such as higher salaries and better athletic facilities, providing greeting inspiration for young girls who see a future for themselves in sports. Women’s sports are not secondary, and female athletes should receive the respect that they have always deserved.
Image Source: The Chimes