Over 3 million girls play high school sports and around 235,000 girls play college sports. But women only make up 16.4% of pro athletes, while males take up the other 83.6%. After college, there are places for female athletes to continue their careers in the US. There are small professional leagues such as the AUSL, WLL , WNBA, and PWHL. But none of these compare to the men’s league equivalent. Women’s professional sports has been growing, but it is still not enough.
The participation of women’s sports has increased significantly since Title IX was passed in 1972. It has also contributed to the growth of women’s professional leagues and paved the way for more generations of female athletes. Despite all this, women’s sports are still overlooked. The leagues that have been made struggle with funding, media coverage and sponsorships. Women’s sports only receive a fraction of the airtime and attention compared to the men’s sports. According to studies, only around 5% of sports media focuses on women. People try to justify this by saying women are not as entertaining or that they don’t bring in enough revenue to earn more coverage and the same pay as men. But that is not true, mainstream sports coverage brings attention and an audience to the sport and athletes. If there’s no coverage, how can female athletes build audiences? Men’s professional leagues, like the NFL and MLB, have gotten so popular because they are covered on almost every platform. It is not the female athletes failing, it is society failing them.
Even when they do get media attention they are never taken seriously. There are many great athletes that are not getting the recognition they deserve. Take Bri Ellis for example. She was the first baseman for the University of Arkansas and in 2025 she was the most feared hitter in college softball. She hit 26 home runs, 4.57 average and 1.142 slugging and was the number 2 in the AUSL draft. But still no one knows her name. Las Vegas Center A’ja Wilson averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds in a game, won three WNBA championships, and two MVP awards and yet she still gets no recognition. Even the big names in women’s sports, such as Caitlyn Clark, Serena Williams and Simone Biles continue to face challenges that male athletes do not. Succeeding female athletes are constantly facing backlash and abuse online. Research by Amberlie Williams from the School of Sport and Physical Activity at Sheffield Hallam University (UK), shows that 71% of female athletes have faced gendered abuse and face 19% more online abuse compared to males.
The achievements of female athletes are often overshadowed because of lack of recognition and the abuse they face online. To fix this problem, organizations need to provide more protection for their female athletes. They need to stop prioritizing the organization’s reputation and money making over their athletes’ wellbeing. Big sports news outlets also need to step up, they need to be more open to showcasing female athletes and give them the opportunity to draw in audiences. But it is not just up to these big companies and organizations, we as a society need to help address it. We need to spread awareness of the unfairness in sports and support our athletes. It is crucial that our athletes shine and have a supportive and respectful environment for all the hard work they put in.
