A study commissioned by the Victorian government has found that media coverage in the state of women’s sport more than doubled during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC), as the nation was gripped by the Matildas.
Coverage of women’s sport increased to 31 per cent, up from just 15 per cent the previous year, according to an analysis of 100 sports news items including online, print, television and radio within Victoria.
The increase was largely driven by coverage of the FIFA WWC, with the Matildas the subject of one in five news stories published or broadcast during July and August 2023.
This compares to one in 39 stories on the national women’s football team in the previous year.
The Matildas also became Australia’s most-mentioned sporting team during the tournament, receiving more than double the coverage of the Australian men’s cricket team, who played two Ashes Tests over the same period.
Captain Sam Kerr, who battled calf problems before returning to the side in the dying minutes of Australia’s round of 16 win over Denmark, received over four times as many mentions as any other athlete.
Victoria’s Minister for Women Natalie Hutchins said the figures were “further evidence” of the “growing interest and fan base in women’s sport”.
“It is good to see the media coverage reflecting the public’s interest in the Matildas, who are many girls’ heroes,” she said in a statement.
Women journalists more likely to cover women’s sport
The FIFA Women’s World Cup was a runaway success, with almost 2 million fans attending matches nationwide, while coverage of the event on TV reached 18.6 million viewers, plus an additional 3.8 million online.
This included the Matildas’ semifinal against England, which drew 11.1 million viewers — the largest viewing audience in the history of Australian free-to-air ratings.
The popularity of the tournament may also have provided more opportunities for women to cover sport, with the number of stories authored by women increasing to 34 per cent, up from 27 per cent in 2022-23.
Further analysis revealed — as previous data has shown — that women were more likely to cover women’s sport.
During the WWC, women journalists were 77 per cent more likely to report on women’s sport compared to men.
However, men were 18 times more likely to be approached as interviewees on articles about women’s sport.
The most approached sources were coaches (21 per cent), which — as was the case with the Matildas at the time — were often men.
Gender-balanced reporting still a long way off
The Victorian report found that just one organisation — the ABC — achieved 50 per cent coverage of women’s sport.
Since 2020, ABC Sport has been running the 50:50 Equality Project, which is part of a broader ABC News initiative and aims at increasing coverage of women’s sport and diversity within sport more broadly.
Seven West Media — which broadcast the FIFA WWC — achieved 49 per cent coverage of women’s sport.
The next best result was Star News Group’s 35 per cent, revealing many organisations still heavily favoured coverage of men’s sport.
Gender-balanced sports reporting continues to be a problem.
With the FIFA WWC removed from analysis, just 11 per cent of coverage in Victoria was dedicated to women’s sport.
Carlee Millikin, general manager of women’s football at Football Australia, said the figures reinforced the “transformative impact of representation in sport”.
“The ability for women and girls to see themselves in the Matildas and connect with their stories has been pivotal, not just for female participation, but also in shaping broader societal perceptions,” she said in a statement.
“This visibility empowers the next generation of players, coaches, referees, administrators and fans, inspiring them to dream big.”
Sarah Styles, director of the Office in Women and Sport and Recreation, said it was important that media organisations “built on the momentum” of the FIFA WWC to “continue to elevate the coverage of women’s sport”.
“Increased media coverage ensures that the talent, achievements, and stories of women athletes are celebrated year-round, fostering lasting change in the sporting world,” she said.
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