Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
ABC News
ABC News
Health

From nuns to mums, weekend warriors to world champions, fitness fanatics to fanatical fans — women in sport want wider coverage

Ali Tucker-Munro, Rana Hussain and Eliza Stankovic-Mowle want to see a diverse range of women represented in sports coverage. (ABC Sport)

Four nuns are playing football on a synthetic pitch, on a rooftop in Rome. 

Dressed in habits, they're having a fun kickaround, playing like nobody's watching (or covertly filming from afar).

On a tight angle, one nun slots in a neat right-footer, and celebrates with her arms raised.

Later, another nun loses a shoe when she kicks the ball, but like a true competitor it doesn't stop her from pushing on.

The video quickly spread around the world, celebrating a group of women we don't normally see engaging in sport and physical activity. 

But for Rana Hussain, it wasn't a novelty at all — it made her feel seen.

Rana Hussain has previously worked for Cricket Australia and Richmond Football Club in diversity and inclusion roles. (Supplied: Megan Brewer)

"That image gets me up off the couch more than anything else, images of women that I can relate to," the diversity and inclusion leader and member of the Outer Sanctum podcast said.

"That's how I play sport. That's how I go to the gym. I wear loose fitting clothes. I cover my hair and, to see them do it, makes me feel like I can do it too."

For Hussain, and so many women like her, seeing themselves reflected is something they're desperate to see. 

'White women celebrating and smiling'

So, when we look at women in sport, who are we seeing?

Yes, there are the powerhouse world-beaters such as Sam Kerr, Ash Barty and the Australian women's cricket team who have become absolute fixtures on our sporting scene. 

The Australian women's cricket team currently holds the T20 and ODI World Cups. (Getty Images: Hannah Peters)

But what happens when we dig a little deeper?

Getty Images has one of the world's largest creative and editorial picture databases, and it has gathered what it calls "visual GPS data" around women in sport.

Using internal search data, insights from visual experts, and market research, it has uncovered the current state of play when it comes to the visual representation of women in sport, and what audiences want.

It has found there is significant coverage of sportswomen around major events such as the Olympics, but it dramatically drops to 7 per cent visibility in the media outside of these times.

Ash Barty is one of the most recognisable figures in Australian sport. (Getty Images: Quinn Rooney)

And it's worse for those from diverse and under-represented backgrounds.

Kate Rourke is the head of creative insights, Asia Pacific at Getty Images and iStock. 

She says that Getty's customers, including media outlets, advertisers and brands, use less than 1 per cent of people with a disability in their visuals.

LGBT+ women and non-binary people also represent less than 1 per cent, and less than 4 per cent are people from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

Women from culturally diverse backgrounds — such as Australian featherweight champion boxer Tina Rahimi — are under-represented in sports media and advertising. (ABC Sport: Amanda Shalala)
Older women engaging in sport and physical activity don't receive nearly as much attention in mainstream media and advertising. (Getty Images)

A Griffith University study looking at the media representations of women at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games found outlets promoted images of "white women celebrating and smiling", and "whiteness and normative femininity were presented as 'natural' and 'neutral'."

It also found that "there was a recurrent representation of successful sportswomen as predominantly able-bodied, young, white, and conforming mostly to traditional understandings of femininity (i.e., smiling, heterosexual, in passive poses, wearing makeup and jewellery)."

A Griffith University study found there were narrow representations of sportswomen in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. (AAP: Darren England)

That resonates with Hussain.

"And I think part of that is just because, naturally, our focus is on the elite games, and the people [who] are making it through to elite sport aren't yet representative of our population."

Ali Tucker-Munro can also relate.

She's a proud Kamilaroi woman, and the head coach of the GWS Giants Netball Academy.

Ali Tucker-Munro is a former elite netballer, and now a high performance coach, who wants to see more First Nations sportswomen in the spotlight. (Supplied: Netball NSW)

"Our cultural identity is really complex for a range of reasons. [It's] obviously been influenced by past government policies around assimilation.

Ali Tucker-Munro recently coached the Netball NSW First Nations All-Stars in a curtain raiser to the Super Netball First Nations round. (Supplied: Netball NSW)

"I heard a story of a player being questioned about her cultural identity, because of the colour of her skin, like, 'You can't have experienced racism'."

"When we talk about interviewing and portraying First Nations female athletes, [it's about] giving that broad breadth. So what role can media and profiling our First Nations women play in helping people educate and inform people around that?"

Paralympian Eliza Stankovic-Mowle says it's essential to showcase people from all backgrounds, including people with disability.

"If it's not there, and you can't see it, it doesn't exist, does it?," she noted.

Eliza Stankovic-Mowle is a Paralympic wheelchair racer, and has recently started playing wheelchair rugby. (Supplied: Wheelchair Sports NSW-ACT/Karen Watson)

"So, the more we see it, the more it becomes mainstream, then the more we all just accept it, and it's seen for its beauty.

"[For] young people, seeing people with disability in all walks of life, doing incredible things, it really just gives them the hope and the dream that they can be whatever they choose to be.

Ms Rourke also says that, while media outlets and advertisers do want to be more inclusive, there are underlying unconscious biases.

"We need to become much more aware of what those biases are, so that, when we are selecting content, or when we are going to be showing different female athletes, we are making sure that we are checking in on those biases," she said.

What do women want?

It's pretty simple: Women want to see people like them. 

Ms Rourke says their research showed women mainly encountered bias due to body shape, age, gender and ethnicity.

"They want to see females of different body types, engaging in sport in some way," she said.

Women want to see positive portrayals of people with different body types.  (Getty Images)

"We found with the image testing that we did, that women in Australia and New Zealand were twice more likely to respond to all different body types, they were likely to choose more different ethnic diversity from the visuals, and very much that social bonding, friendship groups engaging in sport is what they responded to.

Women want to see themselves reflected. (Getty Images)

"And, if we want to encourage more participation, we want to encourage much more inclusion, then the way forward is to do that in terms of including this much more broadly."

Ms Rourke says one of the key parts of the research was breaking stereotypes around people with disability.

"One of the biases that we often see is this idea of either trying to show them very heroically, almost trying to overcome the disability that they might have," she said. 

"When, in fact, all of our research is showing that they just want to be seen in every day [situations]. It is not about overcoming a disability. They live with disability."

Eliza Stankovic-Mowle wants to be seen as a multi-dimensional person.  (ABC News: Pat Galloway)

"I'm not just one thing. I'm so many different things. And that's what makes me proud to be me," Stankovic-Mowle said.

"So, I would like to think that I'm seen by the media as a woman, firstly, with a disability, but who is a mother, who is a sportsperson, who also has a career. And, first and foremost, who is happy, and I prioritise my physical and mental health.

Non-binary Paralympian Robyn Lambird agrees media and advertisers can play a huge role in dismantling stereotypes and creating a more inclusive society.

It's believed Lambird was the first adult with a visible disability to model in a national advertising campaign for a major Australian retailer, when they featured in a campaign for Target in 2016.

And they were also the first 'out' non-binary athlete to win a Paralympic medal.

"In terms of marketing, and things like that, it's so subconscious, and we absorb so much from that," Lambird said.

"We create a picture of what our world looks like and the people involved in it. So, I think, disabled people need to be included in that.

"It's great to see how far we've come — in terms of body image and celebrating different body shapes and sizes — and I think it's just the next step."

Telling community stories

And it's not just about celebrating those athletes who make it to the top — as they are still a very select few.

"So, hand in hand with more coverage of women's elite sport, I want representation and visibility of community sport.

"And it's hard, because that's not always the sexy story or the interesting story that will necessarily get eyeballs.

Players from Bayside Futsal Women, which is a free, community-based social competition that attracts a wide range of women. (Supplied: Aish Ravi)

"But I think there's a way to do it, with real authenticity of telling everyday stories and up and comers. I think, as brands and as storytellers, if we represent the whole picture, we'll build the whole pie for everybody and slowly bring everyone along."

Tucker-Munro wants to see greater awareness of the challenges Indigenous women face in being able to play sport, and for them to receive as much support and investment as men.

"In First Nations culture, and I'm talking obviously from my own lived experiences, a lot of our girls have kinship, caring responsibilities," she said.

"And oftentimes, it's them that actually have to play second fiddle to the brother, or whoever else in the family's got rugby league on Sunday. There's almost this overlooking [of] female athlete opportunities.

The NRLW Indigenous All Stars are an important part of rugby league. (Getty Images: Ian Hitchcock)

"And it's not about diminishing or devaluing our amazing Aboriginal men who were playing really well in sport.

Lambird also wants greater awareness of athletes with a disability on a more consistent basis.

"It's not good enough to see disabled sports once every four years at the Paralympics. We need to be seeing it throughout the year so people can get to know these athletes and get to understand the games," they said.

"It's so important to see, not only sportspeople with a disability, but [also] people with a disability in all walks of life and what they can do," Stankovic-Mowle added.

Whether they're nuns or mums, weekend warriors or world champions, fitness fanatics or fanatical fans, women in sport no longer want to be sidelined — they're ready to see themselves in the spotlight, in all their different forms.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.