Are Women Sports Journalists in Spain Truly Progressing or Facing “Pseudo-Progress”?

Abstract

Sports journalism has become one of the news products with the most significant social reach in the press, radio, television and digital media. Despite the significant presence of women in journalism, they continue to face gender-based stereotypes. In Spain, not very many women can effectively access the labour field of sports journalism, and those who do find themselves in a space dominated by men, which results in a perpetuation of the existing imbalances in society. The main objective of this study is to analyse the evolution of the roles developed by women journalists in the article-production aspect of the Spanish sports press between 2010 and 2022. We use quantitative content analysis, studying the articles published in Marca and Mundo Deportivo during the second week of June in 2010, 2014, and 2018, and the third week of November 2022; in each of these years, the men’s FIFA World Cup was played. The results of this study show that: (a) women journalists have an almost invisible role in the production of articles, and (b) rather than progress, women are facing “pseudo-progress”, a more appropriate term for the appearance of a change that is not actually occurring.

1. Introduction

Since its origins, the sports media industry has been criticised for being involved in reinforcing social inequality, mainly in aspects related to gender (Rowe 2004). Male editors regulate and construct narratives that shape the media’s representations of women. This regulation turns women’s bodies into subjects of a male gaze, a concept that describes how media often portrays women from a male perspective, objectifying them and reducing them to mere visual objects for male pleasure (Merrill et al. 2015; Mulvey 1975). Although the male gaze may appear inclusive by superficially showcasing women, it subtly reinforces traditional gender roles (Núñez Puente 2005). Even though the presence of women working as journalists is now common, they continue to be marked as “other”, and as “different”; while men are treated as professionals, women are judged and defined by their femininity (Belmonte-Arocha and Guillamón-Carrasco 2008; Chambers et al. 2004). As sport has been used by men as a place where they constantly affirm and reaffirm their masculinity, women who pursue careers in sports journalism encounter numerous challenges (Grubb and Billiot 2010), being underrepresented in almost all spheres (Antunovic and Whiteside 2018). Sport and journalism intersect to keep them marginalised (Chambers et al. 2004).

Despite technological advances, Spanish sports newspapers continue to be successful, since sport is part of everyday life in our society, which causes the vast majority of people to regularly consume sports information (Herrero Gutiérrez 2018). Similar to trends elsewhere, Spanish sports journalism historically presents challenges for women journalists seeking inclusion. In the cases where women have been effectively integrated, they are often sexualised and stereotyped (Ramon Vegas et al. 2020; Sainz de Baranda 2013). Additionally, their participation in article production has always been limited (Alonso-Allende et al. 2018). In this sense, Faedo et al. (2022) found that the publication of informative articles by women in Marca and Mundo Deportivo has decreased in recent years. Therefore, a crucial question emerges: what is the current status of women journalists within the Spanish sports press, and have there been any changes over time? This study aims to analyse the evolving roles of women journalists in sports press article production in Spain from 2010 to 2022, identifying similarities and differences across these years.

This research addresses a significant gap in the literature by exploring how these roles have changed over time. The situations of inequality suffered by women throughout history, the relevance of sports journalism, and the lack of current works that analyse in depth the role of women journalists in the Spanish sports press justify the need to develop a work that addresses this issue and thus help by making a contribution to both knowledge in the scientific field and society.

2. Sports Journalism and Media: What Place Do Women Occupy?

2.1. Gender Dynamics and Challenges in Sports Journalism

Most researchers, mainly feminist scholars, clearly agree that the media play a central ideological role, not only in reflecting, but also in reinforcing existing discriminatory ideas about gender (Bernstein and Blain 2002). Gill (2007) states that one of the elements that makes today’s media very different from the television, magazines, radio, and print media of the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s is that feminism is now part of the cultural field. Today, discourses of feminism are part of the media landscape, rather than simply external and independent critical voices, which means that many ideas that once encountered active battles are now accepted as uncontroversial: “From the right to work after marriage to equal pay for equal work… and the notion that rape can happen in relationships” (Gill 2007, p. 40).

However, despite these advances, the role of women in mass media has been characterised as negligible and stereotyped. This representation has been called on numerous occasions a “symbolic annihilation”, which implies that by ignoring or portraying women in stereotyped roles, the media annihilate them symbolically (Gerbner and Gross 2017; Tuchman 2000). For instance, women are often shown in secondary or domestic roles in news coverage, while men dominate stories on politics or economics. Such portrayals, particularly on television, reinforce traditional stereotypes and contribute to the symbolic erasure of women’s contributions and presence in the field (Tuchman 2000). According to Hardin and Shain (2006), within sports journalism, women are outsiders in relation to their gender, but insiders in relation to compliance with journalistic norms and values. They are outsiders, since, in general terms, they are relegated from journalistic practice. They are insiders because when women are able to participate in sports journalism, they are expected to adhere to societal stereotypes and endure discriminatory gender attitudes to remain in the field, while often being relegated to the background and judged more for their physical appearance than for their talent and knowledge (Everbach 2018). Even worse, they must meet both the social definition of femininity, and also the social definitions associated with professionalism (Frohlich 2004; Hardin and Shain 2006; Steiner 1998; Van Zoonen 1994). This compliance is often enforced by media organisations and audience expectations, and failure to conform can result in professional disadvantages, such as marginalisation or exclusion from key opportunities (Martínez-Corcuera and Faedo 2024; Salido-Fernández and Muñoz-Muñoz 2023).

This marginalisation is further evidenced by statistical analyses. Nieland and Horky (2013) analysed 80 newspapers in 22 countries, finding that women wrote only 8% of the sports articles. Franks and O’Neill (2016) examined six UK national newspapers, discovering that women authored just 2.3% of the sports content. Schoch (2022) found that in the Swiss press, women contributed only 9% of the sports articles. The Women’s Media Center (2021) reported that in the United States, women produced 15% of sports news in newspapers, 24% in online media, and 8% on wire services.

Moreover, journalism and sports seem to have an inseparable relationship. Historically, journalism has taken advantage of sport very well, both projecting the achievements of athletes towards the communities these athletes represent, and generating within society the need to consume this information and thus be a part of this collective success (Rojas-Torrijos 2011). Thus, what happens to women who want to develop professionally in sports journalism? On numerous occasions, women who work in sports media have said that they suffer discrimination and harassment on the basis of gender in their work, and that they have fewer possibilities of professional growth (Angulo-Giraldo 2020; Everbach 2018; Everbach and Matysiak 2010; Hardin and Shain 2005, 2006; Smucker et al. 2003). In addition, the overwhelming majority of sports journalists continues to be male, and sports coverage is disproportionately oriented towards men’s sports and male athletes (Abisaid and Li 2020).

The field of sports journalism has notably developed its capacities for structure and content production, but entrenched gender biases remain that influence hiring practices, limit opportunities for women to gain experience in high-profile sports reporting roles, and create a lack of mentorship and networking opportunities for female journalists (Grubb and Billiot 2010). Although some progress, women continue to face frustrations and obstacles that their male colleagues do not (Sherwood et al. 2017). Significant challenges to gender equality in sports journalism persist due to deeply ingrained gender practices and organisational structures favouring male journalists, which are rooted in a long-standing tradition of male dominance and a lack of systemic efforts to address these biases (Schoch and Fabien 2021).

According to earlier research by Miller and Miller (1995), interviews with women sports journalists in the United States revealed that they often face higher performance standards, are assigned less-desirable sports coverage, and endure sexist remarks from colleagues and managers. More recent studies, such as those by Martínez-Corcuera and Faedo (2024) in Spain and Chen et al. (2020) in Germany, India, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, have found that women sports journalists frequently encounter sexist comments that criticise, marginalise, stereotype, or threaten them based on their gender or sexuality. As both studies state, such criticism often manifests as misogynistic attacks and, in some cases, even involves sexual violence. Furthermore, women journalists must prove their credibility with sports articles in a much more demanding way than their male peers (Grubb and Billiot 2010), reinforcing the role of women in a male-dominated society. As Organista et al. (2019) expose, these issues associated with a male-dominated environment, combined with lower job satisfaction, difficulties in claiming editorial roles, and structural problems like job precariousness (Figueras et al. 2012; Whiteside and Hardin 2010), contribute to the reasons why many women ultimately leave sports journalism (Hardin and Whiteside 2009). Perceptions of being outsiders and less competent further exacerbate their difficulties, leading many to abandon the field (Organista et al. 2019; Ramon Vegas et al. 2020). However, although they face many challenges, many women in sports journalism find ways to adapt, resist, and seek recognition in areas where their skills and styles are valued, showing remarkable resilience and ability to find satisfaction in their work (Assmann and Eckert 2024; Schoch and Fabien 2021).

2.2. Structural and Cultural Barriers

Sport’s being a space dominated by and labelled for men (Billings and Young 2015; Billings et al. 2014; Cooky et al. 2013) influences the work of women journalists (Everbach 2018; Gómez-Colell 2015): “men ‘own’ sports journalism because they ‘own’ sports” (Hardin and Shain 2006, p. 336). As Hardin and Shain (2006) state, this means that as long as women are not seen as equals in the world of sports, they will struggle to be valued or welcomed by their male counterparts in sports journalism. Women are unlikely to gain “expert” status as sports journalists in a field so heavily controlled by men (Hardin and Shain 2006). Recent studies confirm that men continue to dominate the field, with women making up only a minority of the voices in sports news (Hirdman 2019). Men still constitute a disproportionate share of prominent roles and those accorded expert status (Nordlander 2018). This ongoing disparity underscores the fact that achieving ‘expert’ status as a female sports journalist remains a substantial challenge, reinforcing the observations made by Hardin and Shain in 2006.

According to Everbach (2018, p. 132), “Hegemonic masculinity, a concept in which an idealised and often-toxic version of masculinity allows men to maintain hierarchical status over women, continues to rule the sports media industry”. Sport has historically been used to transform boys into men and affirm their masculinity, a concept supported by societal approval and reinforced through sports journalism. As sports journalism evolved, women entering this traditionally male-dominated field faced unique challenges, as they were stepping into a domain long considered sacred to men (Grubb and Billiot 2010). In accordance with Sherwood et al. (2017), this lack of diversity in newsrooms, combined with the constant pursuit of a male audience (Daum and Scherer 2018), directly impacts the content the audience receives. The underrepresentation of women as reporters leads to less coverage of women’s sports and female athletes.

In addition, studies by Hardin (2005, 2013) and Hardin and Shain (2005, 2006) show that the figure of the editor in the newsrooms is one of the main obstacles to the development of sports journalists: the “gatekeepers”, who determine the content according to their own criteria and, as they are mostly men, legitimise the ideology of the hegemonic masculinisation of sport. Also, the majority of leadership and management positions are held by men (Whiteside and Hardin 2013). As decision-making positions are held by men, women have less weight in message-production processes, which results in sport content being developed in a scenario designed by and for men; women and their opinions are relegated, unless in their practice they adopt the dominant logic (Faedo et al. 2022). To fit in, they need to either genuinely adopt or at least pretend to adopt masculine viewpoints and values (Tamir and Galily 2010; Tamir et al. 2017). This means they consciously emulate masculine writing styles and topic choices, but also internalise these values over time, developing a growing affinity with the masculine editorial perspective. Addressing the “glass ceiling” faced by women and the systemic barriers to professional development for women in sports journalism requires commitment from newspaper industry leaders and sports editors (Hardin and Shain 2005).

Nevertheless, the emergence of female journalists within sports journalism does not seem to have solved the problems of inequality between men and women (Hagay and Bernstein 2021). Although it is true that there are authors who issue assurances that incorporating female journalists causes a greater diversity of sources to be used and less stereotyping (Adams and Tuggle 2004; Eastman and Billings 2000; Mateos de Cabo et al. 2009; Rodgers and Thorson 2003), many other researchers emphasise that women do not have different newsworthiness criteria than male reporters (Hardin et al. 2008; Gallagher 2001; Laucella et al. 2017; Tamir et al. 2017).

Furthermore, there is an important distinction in relation to the articles that are entrusted to women and those entrusted to men. While men are in charge of covering “hard” news, women journalists seem to have to deal with “soft” news (Anderson and Kian 2012; Duncan 2006; Kian and Hardin 2009). The former refers to news stories with a high level of journalistic and public interest, while the latter are those stories that lack prestige and informative interest, such as less-popular sports (Schoch 2022; Tuchman 1972).

Within “hard” news, European football is definitely one of the most important themes, as its cultural value and the intense media focus on it position it as the most significant sport within sports journalism (Ángulo and Cano 2016). This unique position stems from football’s deep-rooted cultural significance and the extensive coverage it receives, distinguishing it from other men’s sports competitions (Ángulo and Cano 2016; De Silva 2023). Over time, this prominence has increased, establishing football as a leading subject in sports journalism and earning it a dominant role (Rojas-Torrijos 2012).

The leading role of football is an indisputable fact in sports journalism, so much so that it causes a “footballisation” in sports articles (Rojas-Torrijos 2012). According to Mudrick and Lin (2017), it is a field dominated by men, since, on many occasions, male sports journalists consider themselves more suitable than women to work with football. Since male journalists consider it a men’s sport, they also assume that male journalists would work more effectively than women. Boyle et al. (2006) directly posit the culture of men in the sports sections as the main reason for the poor presence of women journalists when it comes to covering sports such as football.

Over the years, football has been acquiring a major role, and has become a key element in sports journalism, shifting other sports into the “background”, where they often become almost invisible (Rojas-Torrijos 2012). Consequently, the FIFA World Cups have become one of the most popular sporting events of all, having a strong impact within societies from different parts of the world, and for different age ranges (Baloyi and Bekker 2011; Junge and Dvořák 2015). The growth, expansion, and consolidation of football World Cups have been truly phenomenal over time (Tomlinson et al. 2003).

2.3. Women Sports Journalists in Spain

Sports journalism is the type of journalism with the largest number of specialised newspapers in Spain (Rojas-Torrijos 2014). Despite the fact that Spanish sports newspapers have been losing ground to new technologies, they are still successful because sport is part of the day-to-day life of society; many people practice sports or consume sports articles regularly (Herrero Gutiérrez 2018). It is also important to note that, as Rojas-Torrijos (2012) explains, within the coverage of Spanish newspapers, football predominates. Due to the passion that football has traditionally inspired among Spanish fans, and the significant economic profits it brings to companies, it has become the most popular sport in general-interest newspapers (Romero Bejarano et al. 2014).

In both the Spanish and international contexts, women working in sports newspapers have long been marginalised (Alonso-Allende et al. 2018; Hardin and Shain 2006; Martínez-Corcuera and Faedo 2024; Salido-Fernández and Muñoz-Muñoz 2023). Although it is true that, over time, all types of media have incorporated women into their newsrooms, the basic element of their content is still male: “A voice seems to be more credible if it comes from a man” (Diezhandino 2008, p. 23).

According to Gallego (2002), there is a notable absence of women as writers in the article-production aspect of the Spanish press. In the newsrooms, a masculine gender worldview can be observed: the choices of topics, approaches, and narratives reflect and reinforce traditional gender stereotypes. This masculine gender view provides all the ideological substrate that the professionals will later pour into their daily practices. The authorship of the articles shows that these newsrooms are mostly dominated by men (Rangel Amo and Ramírez Alvarado 2018). In this sense, Faedo et al. (2022) found that the publication of informative articles by women in Marca and Mundo Deportivo has decreased in recent years. Moreover, their articles do not appear on the front pages. In another research effort, Salido Fernández (2022) explains that the proportion of female-authored pieces during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games was low compared to men. In her analysis of the newspapers As, Marca, Mundo Deportivo, and Sport, the author also discovered that women cover a higher proportion of news stories about female athletes. As Soriano et al. (2005) explain, in the Spanish press there is a “pseudo-feminization”, that is, the equality of women journalists is more an impression than a reality.

Additionally, the lack of female involvement in opinion genres remains an issue in the Spanish newspapers, as indicated by studies conducted by Faedo et al. (2022), Faedo (2023), Alonso-Allende et al. (2018), Suárez-Romero and Ortega-Pérez (2019), and Iranzo-Cabrera (2020). For instance, the study performed by Alonso-Allende et al. (2018) found that in 25 newspapers, only 21% of the 3304 opinion pieces in a one-month period were authored by women. Suárez-Romero and Ortega-Pérez (2019) discovered that the representation of female authors in opinion pieces in El País was minimal, with only 15.3% of the 400 pieces being produced by women. The findings of Faedo et al. (2022) and Faedo (2023) align with these results, demonstrating that women are significantly underrepresented in the opinion sections of Marca and Mundo Deportivo compared to men.

According to Salido Fernández (2021), the few women who manage to enter the predominantly male field of sports journalism face stringent limitations and requirements—such as physical standards—that prevent them from becoming prominent role models for young women and girls. These physical standards often reflect stereotypes about ideal body types, athleticism, and femininity which can overshadow a journalist’s professional skills and knowledge. Women are frequently judged more on their appearance than their expertise, which hinders their visibility and career advancement (Pedraza-Bucio 2012; Salido Fernández 2021). In addition, Blanco-Castilla et al. (2022) explain that hate speech and harassment against sports journalists in Spain is well known among professionals, who consider it a social problem. In any case, there is no forceful position against it, and there is an unacceptable tolerance towards those who practise it, as well as a lack of solidarity and support towards those who suffer from it.

Ramon Vegas et al. (2020) state that gender discrimination persists in the Spanish sports press, highlighting the need for professionals who incorporate a gender-based perspective. In addition, they mention that in Spain, there are two main currents of opinion regarding methods used to combat gender-based inequality in sports media: while some consider that having more women in management positions will make a difference and help combat inequality, others consider that this action would not guarantee changes in the newsrooms, and what really matters is the will of men and women to inform through a gender perspective. The first group “emphasises breaking the glass ceiling and vertical segregation, a fact that would allow women access to editorial decisions, introduce the gender perspective in the articles and diversify the agenda” (Ramon Vegas et al. 2020, p. 1190).

Sainz de Baranda (2013), in an investigation about female athletes in the Spanish sports press, points out that, despite the fact that there has been an increase in the number of women hired as reporters (mainly as editors) through the years, the number of women in positions of responsibility, such as the director or deputy director of a newspaper, has not increased. Currently the historical structure still prevails, one that links sport with men, and that perpetuates both gender stereotypes and prejudices about women and their organisational management skills, a fact that minimises their progress and contributes to the growth of the well-known “glass ceiling” (De Miguel et al. 2017; Román et al. 2021). According to Román et al. (2021), there exists a noteworthy underrepresentation of women in leadership roles within the Spanish sports media industries. The study highlighted the scarcity of women in positions of authority, with a particular emphasis on the fact that they do not occupy 50% of management positions. Furthermore, the research pointed out there is not a single woman in a management position who holds the position of director, and the highest level a woman has reached is deputy director.

In addition, not only do women fail to reach managerial positions, but they do not even manage parity in salaries and the number and categories of jobs (Caro González et al. 2014; Román et al. 2021). Consequently, despite possible progress towards equality between women and men in relation to sports journalism in the Spanish sports media, there is still a long way to go to achieve such an objective (Román et al. 2021).

3. Methodology

The methodology used in this study is content analysis, a technique that allows us to make reproducible and valid inferences from the data to their context (Krippendorff 1980; Sánchez Aranda 2005). Also, “content analysis goes outside the immediately observable physical vehicles of communication and relies on their symbolic qualities to trace the antecedents, correlates, or consequences of communications” (Krippendorff 1980, p. 403).

We studied the sports articles published in the second week of June in 2010, 2014, and 2018, and in the third week of November 2022 in the following daily sports newspapers published in Spain: Marca and Mundo Deportivo. It is important to point out that we only studied the articles in which it was possible to identify authorship by recognising the people cited in the byline and/or the author’s name in the article. The decision to analyse these newspapers is because they are the two oldest sports newspapers currently published in Spain (founded in 1938 and 1906, respectively). It should be noted that Marca, based in Madrid, was the most widely read newspaper in Spain in the first quarter of 2024 (935.000 readers per day). Mundo Deportivo, based in Barcelona, was among the top 10 newspapers as to the size of its audience within the entire country in the first quarter of 2024 (247.000 readers per day) (Asociación para la Investigación de Medios de Comunicación 2024). The choice of the years is linked to the fact that they are the ones in which the men’s football world championships were held (South Africa 2010; Brazil 2014; Russia 2018; and Qatar 2022), and the choice of these weeks is related to the fact that they are the ones in which the mentioned sporting events began. It is important to note that studying a period during a major men’s sporting event might affect the results, particularly with regard to the distribution of articles between male and female journalists.

The articles with the necessary elements of authorship, and consequently, those studied in this research, represented 55% of the total (See

Table 1. Description of the study’s sample.

Marca + Mundo Deportivo
Total number of articles	Articles with an element of authorship	Articles without an element of authorship
7506	55% (4130)	45% (3376)

Source: Authors’ analysis.

). Articles without authorship often come from agencies or official sources and are attributed to the media outlet.

The variables analysed in our study (see

Table 2. Variables identified.

Newspapers	Variables
Marca and Mundo Deportivo	Date
	Name(s) of the author(s)
	Distribution of authorship
	Hierarchical positions
	Journalistic macro-genres
	Front page
	Sport
	Gender of the sport competition

Source: Authors’ analysis.

) were selected based on themes identified in previous content analyses as being crucial for understanding women’s article production in the press, particularly in the studies by Faedo et al. (2022), Faedo (2023), and Salido-Fernández and Muñoz-Muñoz (2023). To ensure reliability in our coding, we adopted the categories used in these studies, which helped to maintain consistency throughout the categorisation process. All variables were coded into and worked with in Microsoft Excel tables and filters. Based on these data, we produced the final tables exposed in the results of this article.

Below is listed the manner in which the variables studied were coded:

• Date
• Name(s) of the author(s): name(s) and surname(s), not detectable1, not detectable and name and surname2.
• Distribution of authorship: man (only one), woman (only one), men (two or more), women (two or more), men (one or more) and women (one or more), unspecified3, unspecified and man (only one)4, unspecified and woman (only one)5.
• Hierarchical positions: CEO, Director, Deputy Director, Assistant Director, Editor-in-Chief, Director of External Relations, others.
• Journalistic macro-genres: informative, interpretative, and opinion.
• Sport: all sports that have appeared have been codified.
• Front page: yes/no.
• Gender of the sport competition: male, female, or mixed.

It is important to note that the variable ‘journalistic genre’ was divided into three main categories, each including different typologies (subcategories): informative (news and briefs), interpretive (chronicles, interviews, and reports), and opinion (articles, analyses, editorials, letters to the editor, and comic strips). Both the main categories and the subcategories were designed based on the theoretical frameworks of Martínez Albertos (2001) and Grijelmo (2008). Hierarchical positions were determined by examining the detailed listings in the editorial board section found on the last pages of each newspaper. The variable ‘front page’ refers to whether or not the articles analysed appeared on the front page of the newspaper.

4. Results and Discussion

4.1. Spanish Sports Newspapers: A Site Dominated by Male Journalists

During the periods analysed, the presence of women as authors is scarce: in 2010 they participated as authors in 10.3% (126) of the articles, in 2014 in 11.4% (142), in 2018 in 9.9% (87), and in 2022 in 10.9% (87). In consequence, as reflected in

Table 3. Authorship of the articles.

	Marca + Mundo Deportivo
Authorship of Articles	2010	2014	2018	2022
Men	83% (1010)	86.4% (1071)	90.1% (788)	81.8% (651)
Women	10.3% (126)	11.4% (142)	9.9% (87)	10.9% (87)

Source: Authors’ analysis.

, when trying to decipher whether or not there was an advance in the evolution of women as authors of the articles, the results are not very positive for women: there was an increase of only 0.6% between 2010 and 2022. There was definitely not an equal distribution in the production of articles between women and men. Women are still a clear minority in terms of article production, as reflected in the percentages determined in this research and also in other studies such as Schoch (2022), Gallego (2002), and Nieland and Horky (2013). These percentages also confirm the notable absence of women in the article-production aspect of the Spanish press, as portrayed by Gallego (2002) and Rangel Amo and Ramírez Alvarado (2018). As Hardin and Shain (2006) affirm, women are outsiders within sports journalism since they are excluded from journalistic practice. Women face a situation of scarcity and imbalance with respect to their male colleagues (Salido Fernández 2021).

We also analysed how the articles were signed. As seen in

Table 4. Distribution of authors signing articles.

	Marca + Mundo Deportivo
Distribution of Authors Signing Articles	2010	2014	2018	2022
Man (only one)	78% (950)	82.3% (1021)	85.4% (748)	77.2% (614)
Woman (only one)	9.1% (111)	10.4% (129)	8.8% (77)	10% (80)
Men (two or more)	2.4% (29)	3.1% (38)	3.3% (29)	3.7% (29)
Women (two or more)	0.2% (2)	0.2% (3)	0.2% (2)	0.1% (1)
Men (one or more) and women (one or more)	1% (12)	0.8% (10)	0.9% (8)	0.7% (6)
Unspecified	7.8% (96)	3% (36)	0.9% (8)	8.1% (64)
Unspecified and man (only one)	1.4% (17)	0.2% (3)	0.5% (4)	0.2% (2)
Unspecified and woman (only one)	0.1% (1)	0% (0)	0% (0)	0% (0)

Source: Authors’ analysis.

, for the articles in 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022, we can observe a clear dominance of men signing alone, reaching its highest percentage (85.4%) in 2018. On the contrary, women had a clearly minor presence when signing alone: the maximum percentage reached was 10.4% in 2014. Therefore, it is not only that there was a scarce presence of women signing articles, but, as Table 4 reflects, there was also an insignificant percentage of women signing alone. According to Bernstein and Kian (2013), sports journalism maintains certain safeguards as to the incorporation of women into their jobs. In consequence, and as stated by Hardin and Shain (2006), it is almost impossible for women to gain “expert” status as sports journalists if they do not have a significant role, in an environment that predominantly belongs to men.

In addition, the articles in which men and women participated as joint authors represented 1% in 2010, 0.8% in 2014, 0.9% in 2018, and 0.7% in 2022. Now, if we focus on what these percentages represent in the context of the total number of articles in which both men and women are authors, we can affirm that, in the case of men, they represent 1.2% in 2010, 0.9% in 2014, 1% in 2018, and 0.9% in 2022; in the case of women, they represent 9.5% in 2010, 7% in 2014, 9.2% in 2018, and 6.7% in 2022. Despite the fact that no major changes are observed over time, what is dazzlingly clear is that the percentages are higher in the case of women. Consequently, we can relate the paltry presence of women signing alone to what both Everbach (2018) and Hardin and Shain (2006) point out: since sports journalism is “owned” by men, newspapers seem to believe that if a woman’s signature is accompanied by that of a man, the article will have more reliability. This unequal dynamic could be directly linked to the paternalism in the work environment explained by Ojeda and Torres (2022), which results in women being treated as if they need protection or guidance because of their gender, limiting their opportunities in sports journalism. Furthermore, it suggests a lack of confidence in women’s expertise, as their contributions are seen as more credible only when supported by a male co-author.

Moreover, we identified the roles of women within the leadership structures of the newspapers, in addition to what they reported, during the years studied. In none of the cases was there more than one woman in the hierarchical structure (see

Table 5. Hierarchical positions.

	Marca				Mundo Deportivo
Hierarchical Positions	2010	2014	2018	2022	2010	2014	2018	2022
Men	14	13	17	18	18	12	16	13
Women	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1

Source: Authors’ analysis.

). The supremacy of men is almost absolute. In the case of Mundo Deportivo, during all the years studied, only one woman appeared, and it was always the same person: Cristina Cubero. While in 2010, 2014, and 2018 she worked as Director of External Relations, in 2022 she worked as Deputy Director of the newspaper. Marca’s situation is even worse: we see a woman (Yolanda Santander) only in 2022, working as an Editor-in-Chief.

The scarce presence of women in managerial positions, as observed in the content analysis, confirms that the “glass ceiling”—an invisible barrier preventing women from advancing within companies (Sarrió et al. 2002)—remains prevalent in Marca and Mundo Deportivo. The number of women in management roles within the sports press is significantly lower when compared to men, resulting in women’s exclusion from decision-making processes. As noted by Román et al. (2021), the historical association between sports and masculinity persists, perpetuating the stereotypes that men possess superior management and leadership skills, and thereby limiting women’s involvement in decision-making.

4.2. Journalistic Genres: Do Women Work with Opinion Articles?

As reflected in

Table 6. Journalistic macro-genres.

	Marca + Mundo Deportivo
	Men				Women
Journalistic Macro-Genres	2010	2014	2018	2022	2010	2014	2018	2022
Informative	38.4% (388)	44.6% (478)	38.8% (306)	43.8% (285)	38.9% (49)	40.8% (58)	39.1% (34)	44.8% (39)
Interpretative	34.1% (344)	30% (321)	35.3% (278)	38.4% (250)	43.6% (55)	39.5% (56)	35.6% (31)	46% (40)
Opinion	27.5% (278)	25.4% (272)	25.9% (204)	17.8% (116)	17.5% (22)	17% (28)	25.3% (22)	9.2% (8)

Source: Authors’ analysis.

, most women participated, across all the years analysed, within informative and interpretive genres. Their participation is limited in opinion articles, for which they suffer a regression of 8.3% between 2010 and 2022. Although it is true that men are also associated with a reduced percentage for this type of article, they still have a majority. The fact that women’s percentages for opinion articles decreased between 2018 and 2022 may indicate a clear symptom of the problem; rather than gaining more influence in the space of opinion, they are actually losing ground. Since opinion pieces are a space for expressing viewpoints, this decline suggests that women have less opportunity to influence public discourse, which could be attributed to their relatively scant power in this domain. The decreasing representation of women in opinion pieces could stem from several factors, such as shifting media dynamics and persistent gender biases. Addressing these issues necessitates a thorough examination of the structural barriers that may be constraining women’s contributions and a concerted effort to enhance diversity and inclusion within editorial decision-making processes.

The data become even worse if we focus on the totality of opinion articles published and the division of these between men and women. Of all the opinion articles published during the years studied, women did not even reach 10% of the authorship in any of the cases. They even participated more in 2010 than in 2022 (see

Table 7. Opinion articles.

	Marca + Mundo Deportivo
Opinion Articles	2010	2014	2018	2022
Total	300	300	226	124
Men	92.7% (278)	90.7% (272)	90.2% (204)	93.6% (116)
Women	7.3% (22)	9.3% (28)	9.8% (22)	6.4% (8)

Source: Authors’ analysis.

).

In consequence, we can assume that, for Spanish newspapers, women have enough of a hierarchical role to present or inform, but not enough of a hierarchical role to give their opinion and analyse. As stated by Alonso-Allende et al. (2018) and Suárez-Romero and Ortega-Pérez (2019), the opinion articles are not, for now, a field for women journalists. Women do not act as opinion-producing agents, and they are almost completely excluded from this role (Angulo-Giraldo 2020). Given that opinion is a fundamental component of the democratic message and one of the foundations of all media (Suárez-Romero and Ortega-Pérez 2019), it is essential that women increase their participation, not only in content creation in general, but also in such a crucial area as this.

Furthermore, we effected a comparison of all of articles published on the front page of newspapers, by men or by women, during 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022. The front page is the element that highlights the day’s most important articles, and, consequently, is positioned as the most significant page within the newspapers (Alonso-Allende et al. 2018). Of all the articles analysed, we can see that men prevail within the vast majority. As shown in

Table 8. Articles on the front page.

	Marca + Mundo Deportivo
	2010	2014	2018	2022
Total	90	93	82	79
Men	87.8% (79)	90.3% (84)	95.1% (78)	91.1% (72)
Women	11.1% (10)	9.7% (9)	4.9% (4)	8.9% (7)
Unspecified	1.1% (1)	0% (0)	0% (0)	0% (0)

Source: Authors’ analysis.

, the maximum participation of women in the articles published on the front pages was 11.1% (2010). In 2018 they did not even reach 5%.

If there are few articles authored by women on front pages, it means that women are assigned topics considered less relevant for newspapers. As we have explained, the front page of a newspaper, being the showcase that brings the most important articles to the reader (Alonso-Allende et al. 2018), is of extreme informational relevance (Alcoba 1999; López Rabadán and Casero Ripollés 2012). As the first point of contact between the newspaper and the reader, it has the capacity to both surprise and inform the public, making it the most significant informational space in newspapers (Alcoba 1999; López Rabadán and Casero Ripollés 2012). According to Alonso-Allende et al. (2018) and Gómez-Colell et al. (2017), the front page focuses the public’s attention on a limited number of topics and aims to attract potential readers. Therefore, it is crucial that women are represented in the articles published in this prominent position. The significance of the front page, combined with the lack of female authorship, places women at a disadvantage compared to their male counterparts.

5. Conclusions

This study contributes to the discourse by highlighting the persistent lack of progress in women’s representation in the Spanish sports press, emphasising critical areas where women remain underrepresented. By focusing on recent data and specific media outlets, this research underscores the urgent need for actionable changes in the industry. The analysis of Marca and Mundo Deportivo demonstrates that, contrary to the perceived advancements in the work of women sports journalists shown in other studies (Assmann and Eckert 2024; Radmann and Sätre 2024), the situation remains unequal in these highly representative media outlets. Therefore, it is crucial to continuously monitor and scrutinise the situation.

Despite some positive societal changes, female sports journalists continue to encounter significant disadvantages in the field of sports press. The research carried out highlights the constant disadvantage of women journalists compared to their male counterparts within the Spanish sports press: women journalists have a scarce presence in the production of articles. In addition, we could not find an evolution in the majority of the areas analysed, which makes us affirm that greater participation of women in the production of articles is more than necessary. Even though, in the social imagination, there seems to be progress in terms of the integration of women in sports journalism, at least in the case of the Spanish sports press, it would be better to speak of ‘pseudo-progress’, because we think that the progress of women journalists is more a desire than a reality. The news agenda needs a wider diversification of voices to ensure women’s representation.

As media, in both their historical and social dimensions, act as builders and shapers of reality (Belmonte-Arocha and Guillamón-Carrasco 2008), it is essential that sports journalism be a field of easy access for women journalists. In addition, as Salido Fernández (2021) and Gómez-Colell (2015) explain, it is key to combine the expectation of a certain number of women journalists working in the press with the preparation of guides that promote non-sexist information, which, in addition, would provide tools relating to the perspective of gender to journalists.

The fact that women barely participate in the writing of articles that appear on the front pages is effectively worrying, since this is an essential element for newspapers; the front page attracts readers, informs them, and makes them aware of the agenda (Alonso-Allende et al. 2018). Therefore, not only should the presence of women authoring articles increase, but it should also grow in a section with as much relevance as the front page.

Moreover, the participation percentages relating to women’s production of opinion articles are worrying. Opinion is a space of power, and if women are not part of the creation of this type of article, it is simply because they have scant power (Alonso-Allende et al. 2018). Women will not be welcomed or valued in the field of sports journalism until they are seen as equal to men in the exercise of the profession. As Grubb and Billiot (2010) point out, a change in sports culture is necessary to improve the situation of women journalists: sport must be an activity for boys and girls from a very young age in order to eliminate traditional habits that link sport with masculinity. There will be no improvements until the value of women sports journalists changes.

Furthermore, the presence of women in leadership positions has been scarce in the period analysed. As Román et al. (2021) exposes, a “glass ceiling” prevails, which imposes difficulties and obstacles that do not allow women to progress in terms of leadership in sports newsrooms. The fact that men appear as the leaders of the hierarchical structures in the newspapers analysed allows us to infer the direct relationship that this situation may have with the number, types, and topics of pieces assigned to women. Women need more opportunities to advance in sports journalism; otherwise they may become discouraged and leave the field, perpetuating the prevalent “revolving door syndrome” (Hardin and Shain 2005).

Sports media companies must take action to address gender inequalities in sports journalism, as emphasized by Salido Fernández (2021). Increased female participation across all stages of article production is crucial. Media industries should strive for a more supportive and egalitarian society by promoting women’s participation in sports journalism, distributing production tasks more equitably, and granting women journalists greater access to decision-making roles.

Limitations and Future Research

The exclusive use of a quantitative technique can be seen as a limitation of this study. Therefore, this research could be enhanced by incorporating a qualitative analysis of articles written by male and female journalists, as well as in-depth interviews with female journalists and senior management members of Spanish sports newspapers. Additionally, a detailed examination of content quality versus article quantity could provide further insights. For instance, future research might explore how long, in-depth investigative pieces compare to a series of shorter articles in terms of their impact and depth, particularly in relation to gender.

The results from this study also allow us to address the prospect of new studies, both quantitative and qualitative. Quantitatively, a similar study could be carried out, but investigating times when there are sporting events in which women are the protagonists, such as FIFA Women’s World Cups. In this way, analysis could determine whether the roles assigned to women in those periods of time are just as scarce or not. In a qualitative way, the work situation of women sports journalists on television could be studied, since it works as a transmitter of gender stereotypes that collaborate with the discrimination and judgment of women (Núñez Puente 2005); would we see here “pseudo-progress” or real progress?