Tokyo Olympics: Organisers urge media for gender-equal coverage
Washington Post reporter Ava Wallace took to Twitter to share pages from the Tokyo 2020 media handbook. The pages have statistics portraying gender inequality in the media’s coverage of sports. It claims that female athletes are 20% more likely to be spoken for by a male coach and male athletes are 67% more likely to be a lead story.
“Dunno know if this is always the case at the Olympics, but the page of our Tokyo 2020 media handbook has reminders and tips about gender equity in coverage,” Ava tweeted with the pictures. The handbook also shared that the top words used to describe female athletes include ‘aged’, ‘older’, and ‘married’. While for male athletes, it is ‘fast’, ‘strong’, and ‘beat’.
In addition, female athletes are nine times more likely to be pictured with their spouse or partner. Stressing upon the gender disbalance in sports journalism, the pages cited that only 20% of the reporters and 10% of the photographers in the Rio 2016 games were female.
The handbook also features tips for media persons to ensure gender equality in coverage. It asks reporters to think about the difference in words used to describe male and female athletes. It also suggests selecting more pictures that portray female athletes as strong, confident and capable in a sporting context. The use of non-gendered words is also encouraged by the handbook.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been trying to ensure that Tokyo 2020 are the first gender-equal Olympic Games. Female athlete participation will be almost 49%. As per a report by the Times of India, United States, Great Britain, China, Australia, and Canada are sending more women athletes than men.
