Women’s sport has a history of being undervalued and underrepresented in the media, however recent trends suggests women’s sport is gaining traction.
Sport is considered an important skill and activity for kids. It teaches life skills such as teamwork, leadership, communication and confidence. Yet by the age of 14 girls drop out of sport at twice the rate of boys.
There are several factors that lead to these statistics including social expectations, lack of investment in quality programs and unconscious bias leading to less opportunity.
In male dominated sports like soccer, rugby and AFL, unconscious bias and the lack of funding limits opportunities and pathways presented to female athletes.
For example, there is no such thing as AFLM for Australian League Football Men’s. The sport is pre-determined as male.
Source: Women’s Sport Foundation
Wollongong Bulldogs AFL player Eliana Curtis said the gender differences are unfortunately still quite visible in some areas.
“In small town footy for example, the women’s competition would often run at a completely different time to the men’s,” Ms Curtis said.
“They would have a summer comp instead, which I think shows it’s taken a bit less seriously.
“Those differences can also be noticed in the way the players move. Something as simple as kicking the ball on the run – men have been doing these skills since Auskick so it’s easy for them, whereas that wasn’t even an opportunity for many women in the sport.
“You hear it growing up all the time that it’s too dangerous of a sport for women, with too much contact, so instead of being taught how to play correctly and not injure yourself, you’re just taught not to play.
“It’s a struggle because now we have to learn those skills from scratch while it’s second nature to so many other people because of those earlier opportunities.”
Despite this, women’s sport has seen many great successes and a significant rise in viewership, media attention and sponsorship in the past five years.
Teams like the Matilda’s have attracted global attention by making the 2023 World Cup, which is the most watched female sporting event in history.
And the recent Paris Olympics was the the most gender-equal games, with a near 50-50 split of female to male athletes.
More recently the 2025 Women’s State of Origin games has seen a record number of seats sold for the opening game.
Source:Statista, 2024
What these examples demonstrate is that against all odds, female sport is on the rise, with female athletes set to break down barriers.
Statistics from UN Women Australia has shown that women’s sports media coverage has trippled since 2019, after previously sitting idle at just five per cent for the past thirty years.
In 2022, that rate increased to 16 per cent, and now in 2025, the number sits around 20 per cent.
While still considerably low, the numbers are expected to keep rising with streaming sites and stadiums seeing a large influx of engagement, according to the Women’s Sport Trust.
The data also shows that seven out of 10 people now watch women’s sports, a dramatic increase from previous years with the NRLW recording a 180 per cent increase in total viewership from 2022 to 2023.
The driving factor behind the increase being the decision to move all matches from paid sites to free-to-air television, broadcasting all games live and free on Channel Nine.
Source:AusLeisureManagement, 2025
University of Wollongong’s UniActive sports program manager, James Pendrigh aims to create a better pathway for female athletes in the Illawarra, with a fresh female high performance program.
“Seeing the success and visibility of teams like the Matildas, has a dramatic impact on girls, so to start this program up with that in mind and give them an idea of what they could potentially be, it really gives them an environment to succeed and something to strive for,” Mr Pendrigh said.
The program is set up for female athletes aged 14 to 18. It fosters a competitive environment which better prepares and supports them to pursue professional sport.
Though the program has a heavy football focus, it supports athletes from a range of different sports including AFL, rugby league and union, hockey and swimming.
“Athletes between that 14-18 age have a high ceiling in that a lot of their skills can translate over to other sports, not just the one,” Mr Penrigh said.
“The program gives them the opportunity to have individualised, supported development and enhanced training to help them reach professional levels.
“The environment teaches a lot of resilience and discipline, so one direct positive outcome might be the girls going on to a professional team, but there are also a lot of other indirect positive outcomes that can give them the platform to then be successful in any kind of career.”
Studies have shown the impact of not only supporting female athletes but also representing them in the media has a significant influence for younger athletes, with 88 per cent of people surveyed by Parity stating that professional female athletes are more influential for young women than any other type of influencer.
This visibility is important in erasing stereotypes in sport and creating a more gender-equal space for both men and women to thrive.
The future does look positive with women’s participation in sport expected to continue increasing.
“My club is really inviting towards female athletes, there’s a really good culture around getting and encouraging new players but also building that future for younger females to come through,” Ms Curtis said.
“Instead of doing both the women’s games first on the weekend and getting them out of the way, our club has the women’s reserves play, then the men’s reserves right after, and it’s the same for first grade.
“I really enjoy it and I think it gives a really good incentive to stick around after games and watch each other and support the club,” she said.
“When I tell people now that I play AFL, the reaction is more surprise and oh that’s really cool rather than those sort of negative connotations and reactions so I’ve had a really positive experience, yeah.”
Ms Curtis said that as barriers continue to fall with growing opportunities for women from grassroots to professional levels, there will hopefully be a new era for women in sport where they are no longer just participating – they will be helping to redefine the game.