The Representation Project has released its report on gender and media coverage of the Tokyo Summer Olympics.
Of the major findings in the report, women were found to have received 59.1 percent of screen time in primetime Olympic coverage, matching the roughly 58 percent of medals that were won by Team USA women.
It appears as though this trend is here to stay. Since the London Games in 2012, women athletes have received more coverage than men and that number continues to grow with each Olympics.
However, the report also found that language used by commentators and reporters often used gendered references toward women 13.6 percent of the time as opposed to just two percent of the time with men. Additionally, they found 29 instances of gender diminutive language, with “girl” being used 21 times, “lady” six times, and “chick” twice.
One of the report’s recommendations to improve coverage is to hire more women commentators. At this year’s Olympics, 82 percent of Olympic commentators were men, with a majority of women being relegated to “sideline” coverage.