In an impressive move, the Olympic Broadcasting Services OBS is head-on tackling sexism in sports coverage.
OBS is responsible for the TV coverage of the Olympics, with its images shared with rights holders around the world.
With the Paris Olympics marking a historic milestone in gender parity among athletes, OBS CEO Yiannis Exarchos is urging camera operators to film men and women athletes with equal respect in order to eliminate stereotypes and sexism from the coverage.
Exarchos noted that despite progress, women athletes are still often framed differently than their male counterparts, with excessive close-up shots and a focus on physical appearance rather than athletic prowess.
“Unfortunately, in some events, they (women) are still being filmed in a way that you can identify that stereotypes and sexism remain, even from the way in which some camera operators are framing men and women athletes differently,” he said.
“Women athletes are not there because they are more attractive or sexy or whatever. They are there because they are elite athletes.”
To combat unconscious bias, OBS has updated its guidelines for camera operators, most of whom are men.
In the past, the Olympics’ schedule often favoured men’s events, but changes have been made to promote gender equality in sports, especially by making the women’s marathon the final event.
“The schedules of sporting events have traditionally been biased towards highlighting men’s events,” Exarchos said.
“Traditionally, in team sports, you have first the women’s finals and then the men’s final. In strength and combat sports, traditionally, you have women’s competitions in the morning and men’s competitions in the afternoon.”
According to Marie Sallois, director of gender equality at the International Olympic Committee, the Paris Olympics have become a significant platform for gender equality in sports.
This year’s games have made history, with almost all delegations featuring both male and female flag carriers in the opening ceremony and an artistic show celebrating trailblazing women in French history.
It’s a far cry from the Olympics’ origins when founder Pierre de Coubertin envisioned a celebration of male athleticism with women relegated to the sidelines as admiring spectators.
Even as recently as 1924, when the Olympics last came to Paris, women made up just 4% of competitors and were limited to “suitable” sports like swimming and tennis.
But now, the Olympics have evolved into a global platform promoting gender equality in and through sport, with women taking centre stage as equals.
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