The Bracco Foundation and the International Olympic Committee promoted the first nationwide survey of media coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics from a gender perspective. The results of the study, conducted by Osservatorio di Pavia, were presented at a meeting for the press and industry professionals on Wednesday 19 February 2025 at Palazzo Marino, in the presence of the mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, and other prominent institutional figures.
In order to measure the extent to which the media portrayal of the Olympics and Paralympics is influenced by gender stereotypes, the study analysed the content, images and language used by national news broadcasters.
The equality of representation at the Games was reflected in the quality of the media coverage of the seven newscasts included in the study. This particularly significant finding attests to the positive changes taking place in terms of media portrayal. The language and images used were overwhelmingly inclusive (93% and 96%) and in keeping with the Portrayal Guidelines for gender-equal, fair and inclusive representation in sport promoted by the International Olympic Committee.
One persistent issue, however, is the over-representation of male authoritative voices, with men being interviewed more than women as experts or commentators (74% v. 26%) and as spokespersons (67% v. 33%).
Another issue worth noting was the limited coverage of the Paralympics, though, on the positive side, more women reporters were involved in the coverage.
The full research report offering insights into how media portrayals are changing is available upon request [segreteria@fondazionebracco.com]
