Victoria’s sports media landscape has long been marked by a significant imbalance in coverage between men’s and women’s sports, with women’s sports accounting for just 15% of news stories in the 2022-23 period, as highlighted in the Conversation of Sport report.
The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup offered a pivotal moment for change, analysis shows that during the tournament, coverage of women’s sports in Victoria more than doubled, reaching 31%.
This marked increase demonstrated the impact of a global event, particularly as one in five sports stories during this period centered on women’s soccer, a dramatic rise from just one in 39 the previous year.
Deputy of the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation, Sarah Styles emphasised the importance of increasing the voices and visibility of women to help drive the change.
"We encourage the media to build on this momentum and continue to elevate the coverage of women's sports," she said.
"Increased media coverage ensures that the talent, achievements, and stories of women athletes are celebrated year-round, fostering lasting change in the sporting world. The World Cup also achieved historic milestones in media attention, with women's sports surpassing men's in coverage on three peak days, coinciding with key moments of the Matildas' inspiring campaign.
"Representation by female journalists also saw a notable improvement, with 34% of sports news bylines credited to women, up from 27% in the year prior."
This study was conducted to understand the impact of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ on coverage of women in sports news in Victoria and delivered by Isentia as part of the Change Our Game Research and Insights Initiative.
Read more about Change our Game's Matildas Effect