My future career consists of either being the middleman with professional teams and athletes as a sports agent or going into sports broadcasting and mass communications. When I initially tell others about my desired occupation, they scrunch their faces briefly and may ask, “What do you know about sports?”.  I usually laugh it off or describe to them that I grew up watching sports frequently and developed a passion for it.

A woman can be just as thoroughly educated as her male peers in regards to any and every aspect of the sports world. Women can possess the same amount of dedication and excitement when they immerse themselves into the diverse culture of athletics. So why is it abnormal for a woman to talk “sports” or enjoy watching it on a daily basis?  

“In a male-dominated industry, female sports journalists often face discrimination and underrepresentation regardless of their knowledge or experience; they often have to work much harder to receive less respect than their male counterparts.” Trinady Joslin said in an article that discussed the male bias in journalism. “From being questioned about their qualifications to interrogated about trivial facts, this is only a small part of the intense scrutiny these women face on a daily basis.”

Within the realm of sports there lies the consistent mediocre faces or voices of males that bring the standard element to television and radio. Male domination has been prevalent in the sports industry since the beginning of athletics. If a female is present on a podcast or television network, she is often there to simply to introduce the topic and not engage in the discussions.

Vicki Sparks is a sports announcer that resides in the United Kingdom. She recently announced the World Cup, as the first female to ever do so. The positive moment was quickly restricted by a former player making a comment regarding a woman commentating a football game.

“I prefer to hear a male voice when watching football,” Jason Cundy said on Good Morning Britain. “Ninety minutes of hearing a high-pitched tone isn’t really what I like to hear. And when there’s a moment of drama, as there often is in football, that moment needs to be done with a slightly lower voice.”

There are many cons to going into this profession. One is the overall job growth decline projected for the next 10 years, per study.com. In addition, the recruitment for filling positions on major networks is targeted to ex-professional athletes or those that have been in the industry for decades. Lastly, in order to be to  paid decently, you must make it to the upper echelon networks like ESPN’s, FOX’s, and CBS’s. If that is an already established setback, imagine being a female entering the industry.

Jennifer McClearen is a radio/television/film professor that is familiar with the gender gap within general fields and sports field. She has been very open on the topic of women being put down in an occupation that they are successful in and are passionate about.

“We can collectively advocate for each other and make people aware that women don’t always receive equal treatment in sports journalism,” McClearen said. “The more we can make everyone aware of these issues, the more we can start working to change it so there’s more gender balance.”   

I am up for the challenge of encouraging more females to kill the world of sports. I feel that female perspectives are needed in order to accurately give the best viewpoints possible and to correctly address the intended audience. Not every little girl’s dream is to be a ballerina or singer, some dream to interview sweaty athletes after a star-studded game. Once they see more women like them on television, they will know that their dream job can be a reality.