With the Paris 2024 Olympics kicking off later this week, the media is already buzzing with coverage of the Games.

Along with storylines of medal counts and athletic accomplishments, there will also be talk of this Olympics marking the first time that half of the competing athletes are women: an even 5,250 split with men.

Michele Donnelly, Brock University Associate Professor of Sport Management, says although this “is an important achievement and should be celebrated — it should not be overstated.”

“When media outlets report that Paris 2024 will be the first gender equal Olympic Games, they perpetuate the harmful message that gender equality has been achieved and no work is left to be done,” she says.

It’s important not to mistake gender parity for gender equality, she says, with the former meaning there are the same number of men and women represented in an organization or at an event. Additionally, she points out that gender parity has only been achieved in one area of the Games: the number of athletes.

“Gender equality is about more than numbers; it refers to rights, responsibilities and opportunities for men and women and girls and boys,” Donnelly adds. “Importantly, gender equality is not a women’s issue, it requires that we take into account the interests, needs and priorities of both women and men.”

Numerous inequalities are still present in the Games, Donnelly says, with more events existing for men than women and fewer women represented in coaching and officiating roles. Differences in the conditions of men’s and women’s participation in the same sports and events also exist, such as different race distances, equipment, rules and uniform requirements.

Olan Scott, Associate Professor of Sport Management at Brock, says the narratives around gender presented by broadcasters and media play an important role in shaping the way male and female athletes are viewed.

“The Olympic Games — and understanding what’s happening in the Olympic Games — is known as being ‘virtually mandatory’ watching because that’s what everyone’s talking about,” he says. “We only see a very small snippet of the total program, though, because the producers and directors are choosing exactly what sports and athletes to show. They have a lot of power in creating the televisual.”

Whether women are represented equally in the number of athletes or medals is only part of the equation, since they may not be given the same volume of broadcast coverage and may be portrayed differently than male athletes when they are shown in the media, Scott says.

Donnelly adds that media coverage about mixed-gender events, for instance, has traditionally emphasized gender-based differences, rather than emphasizing athletes’ contributions to their team’s success.

“Discussion about the mixed-gender 4×400-metre relay in 2022 focused on how to determine the order of athletes to compensate for the women’s slower times relative to their men teammates,” she explains.

Creating more equitable coverage also helps shape the variety and visibility of role models for young athletes, says Scott.

“If you’re showing only women excelling in sports that are traditionally seen as more feminine, that also tells people what you can and can’t excel in,” Scott says. “If I don’t see a woman weightlifter — and I’m a young girl or a teenager who likes weightlifting— I think, well, I can’t do this because I only see men doing it. That’s a sport for only men.”

While there is a lot of work still needed to achieve full gender equality at the Games, Donnelly says working toward that should be a priority, quite simply, “because it’s 2024.”

“Women have participated in the Olympic Games for more than 120 years; having equal numbers of men and women athletes, and men’s and women’s events is the minimum we should expect,” she says. “In addition, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended these gender parity outcomes in 2014. It is crucial to hold the IOC accountable.”