Prof: March Madness is a Great Time to Focus More on Women’s Basketball

PurdueLogoWhile there are more opportunities today to follow women's college basketball, both during the season and at tournament times, these women athletes are, for the most part, minimally praised, reported on or acknowledged on national and regional television news, says a Purdue University expert.

"There was a time when fans couldn't watch women's games on television, and while it is great that we can do so today, there is still a persisting form of inequality in how female athletes are reported on," says Cheryl Cooky (pronounced Cookie), an assistant professor of health and kinesiology and women's studies who studies the sociology of sport. "The lack of coverage of women's sport makes it difficult for girls to imagine themselves as athletes, and it also is important that boys and men see women athletes treated as equals."

Cooky is part of a team based at the University of Southern California that analyzes the media coverage around the popular national tournament for women's college basketball. She has found that the men's tournament receives more news coverage and that there are significant differences between media coverage of men and women. News coverage on women often focuses on their looks, what they are doing off the court or their romantic lives.

"The focus is less on athletic skill and more in the context of what would be considered gender-appropriate roles, such as daughter, sister, mother or girlfriend," she says.

Often, local news outlets provide more coverage of women's sports, and national outlets could learn from their approach.

"Not improving the news coverage of women's sports is a missed opportunity," she says. "Before the 1970s, sports equipment and apparel was only marketed to men, but in the 1980s Nike, Reebok and other manufacturers began to produce equipment and apparel for women. It expanded their business to a new market. Increased coverage of women athletes could do the same."