The IOC has made it a priority of its 2020 Agenda. And Emmanuel Macron a national cause of his mandate. But there still seems a long way to go in French sport to achieve gender parity. On a media scale, sportswomen are still lagging behind the pack.
For the 5th consecutive year, the French media platform Pressedd presented the results of its parity observatory in the French media. On a sporting scale, the visibility of women shows no progression. It would even be in slight decline.
In 2013, the year of the first edition of the observatory Pressedd, 3 sportswomen appeared in the top 100 most publicized athletes. Two years later, there was only one left. The figure rose to 4 in 2016, the year of the Rio Olympics. But, unpleasant surprise, it fell to only 3 champions in 2017. In total, women athletes have around 46 times fewer citations than men in the media.
All sports are affected, but tennis comes out with honors. The only three sportswomen ranked in the top 100 in French sport are in the same discipline. In the lead, Kristina Mladenovic, in 47th position, with 11.702 citations. A breakthrough made possible by his place as quarter-finalist at Roland-Garros, his first major title in Saint Petersburg, then his brief entry into the WTA top 10.
In second position, another French tennis player, Caroline Garcia, quarter-finalist at Roland-Garros, then very prominent at the end of the season on the WTA circuit. It climbs to 54th place in the top 100, with 10.936 citations. Finally, the Romanian Simon Halep, the world number 1, takes a folding seat, in 98th place, with 5.718 citations.
Still very well placed in popularity polls, Laura Flessel confirms her presence in the media landscape in the political department. The Minister of Sports, multiple Olympic and world medalist in fencing, slips into 5th position among the most publicized female ministers of the current government in 2017, with 6.424 citations.
