According to multiple studies, the average presence of women’s sports in traditional Canadian media remains desperately low, fluctuating between just 4 to 6%—for the past 35 years. Light-years away from equality, it’s hard to imagine reaching parity one day. Let’s be honest, it’s shocking! And this statistic is precisely what alarmed us.
Fortunately, we are now witnessing the beginning of real change, and we believe that future generations will enjoy women’s sports that are more accessible, spectacular, and entertaining, with the same resources that men’s sports currently benefit from. In fact, when accounting for social media and the web, women’s sports visibility rises to 15%. Moreover, according to Véronique Dubois, Director of Programming at TVA Sports and a guest in our documentary Sportives sur l’Adrénaline, women’s sports represent between 15 and 18% of the media coverage on their channels. She adds, “But even then, it’s not enough.” And we couldn’t agree more!
Voir cette publication sur Instagram
We raise this issue because this gap has significant consequences. We believe it’s crucial to be aware of it in order to collectively contribute to change and to the advancement of women in sports.
IMAGE = MONEY
It’s well known that the sports industry thrives on sponsorships. As Florence-Agathe Dubé-Moreau, one of the experts featured in our documentary, explains: “If women don’t have access to visibility, we will never achieve equality, because visibility means sponsorships, and sponsorships mean money.” To become an athlete capable of competing with the best in the world, one must dedicate all their time to it and have access to resources such as quality facilities and equipment, specialized teams, and international competitions. This is precisely why younger generations are dominating podiums, as highlighted in our previous article Action Sports: A New Model Driven by Gen Z.
Voir cette publication sur Instagram
Laurie Blouin, a professional snowboarder, talks about this very issue in the documentary. To reach the highest levels, she prioritizes training with the Air Bag. But a single session can cost up to $2,000! She points out, “Without sponsor money, none of this would be possible.” According to her, the lack of sponsorships for women contributes to inequality in sports—especially since the contract amounts are often lower for female athletes. But logically, if you were a sponsor, would you invest more in men, who receive 95% of media coverage, or in women, who average only 5%? A perfect vicious cycle, isn’t it?
Voir cette publication sur Instagram
This is why investing in women’s sports is crucial. Right now, it costs less, but in the long run, it has the potential to be highly profitable! This is precisely the initiative that Canadian Tire launched in 2023, committing at least 50% of its sponsorship funds to the advancement of professional women’s sports by 2026. On this topic, credit must be given to Nike, which has been a trailblazer in sponsoring women’s sports since 1972. Let’s hope these initiatives inspire other companies to follow suit!
Voir cette publication sur Instagram
THE LACK OF FEMALE REPRESENTATION IN SPORTS
Globally, statistics consistently show that young girls are less active than boys, and this is a real societal issue. By the end of high school, 9 out of 10 girls do not meet Canadian physical activity guidelines. There are several reasons for this, but one major factor is undoubtedly the lack of representation. Young girls need inspiration to understand that they have a place in sports and to develop a sense of belonging.
Female role models in sports are essential—because you can’t be what you don’t see!
For example, the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal were the first to be widely televised. For the first time, people could see women competing in sports on TV. This had an incredible impact on girls’ participation in sports, particularly in gymnastics, as many young girls dreamed of becoming the next Nadia Comaneci.
Voir cette publication sur Instagram
In extreme sports, Laurie Blouin shared in an interview that Jamie Anderson was a key role model for her. A true snowboarding legend, Jamie has set the standard in action sports, winning an impressive 21 X Games medals. In the 2010s, she showed women around the world that it was possible to make a living doing what they love, at a time when female representation in action sports was still scarce. Today, the impact is undeniable—women’s snowboarding has reached unprecedented levels, the performances are spectacular, and the audience is certainly there to watch!
THINKING THAT WOMEN’S SPORTS DON’T INTEREST PEOPLE IS A MYTH!
Experts agree that media coverage plays a significant role in shaping public interest in women’s sports. The lack of coverage perpetuates the idea that women’s sports are less important or exciting than men’s. But when women’s sports are talked about, made accessible, and properly promoted, people show up! We saw this in 2024 with the first season of the LPHQ: all 21,105 seats at the Bell Centre were filled! And tickets sold out in record time.
Voir cette publication sur Instagram
Scott Guglielmino, General Manager of the X Games, stated in 2024 that they decided to close the Winter X Games with a women’s event because of strong viewership: “The audience is engaged, and we’ve seen a significant increase in overall interest.” Sporting events and the recent X Games will be at the heart of our next article.
And the numbers speak for themselves: 49% of Canadians say that watching women’s sports is just as entertaining—if not more—than men’s sports. And women are also tuning in! According to Véronique Dubois, 39% of the audience on TVA Sports and TVA Sports 2 is female.
TOGETHER, LET’S GIVE MORE VISIBILITY TO WOMEN IN SPORTS
Voir cette publication sur Instagram
Through our actions, let’s work to rebalance the visibility given to women versus men in sports. It starts with each of us—by watching and sharing content about women’s sports. At Tribu, we make a conscious effort to highlight images of women in action in our posts. This wasn’t always second nature, which makes sense considering that the world of sports has been dominated by men for hundreds—if not thousands—of years. But now, it’s time to break old, outdated habits!