Women’s sport is at a turning point. Whether it’s the Women’s World Cup, Tour de France Femmes or the X Games Women’s Vert skateboarding championship, women’s sport is incredibly entertaining and capable of drawing large audiences. Last year broke records, with more than 2 million people attending women’s sport for the first time. Yet, according to research by Cheryl Cooky, American professor of interdisciplinary studies at Purdue University, women’s sport accounted for only 5.4% of all televised sports airtime. In the face of this historical uninterest we have to thank female athletes for their relentless hard work carving out and holding space in their sports.
