Female Athletes Receive Only 4% of Sports Media Coverage—Adidas Wants to Change That

“Women make up 40% of all participants in sports—yet somehow receive only 4% of sports media coverage. It has a damning ripple effect: Without airtime, female athletes lose out on sponsors, fans, and coin.

This lack of coverage also tees up a shortage of role models for girls in sports—and if you can’t see it, you can’t be it. Girls drop out of sports at two times the rate of boys, according to the Women’s Sports Foundation, but not for lack of passion or skill; women’s and girls’ sports programs are underfunded and often underpromoted.

To give female athletes more leverage—and to give girls in sports more role models—a woman-led team at Adidas launched a global initiative called She Breaks Barriers. The campaign aims to provide better access to sports for women and girls, remove gender stereotypes, and create greater visibility for female athletes at all levels.”