Support for Women's Sports Needs to Start with Women

The women's ice hockey Olympic final match garnered 13 million less views than the men's final match.

By Sofia Timpone

Mar. 9, 2026

The 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics, which came to a close on Feb. 22, made history as the United States’ most watched winter Olympics since 2014. Despite record-breaking views on the women’s front, the Games served as an upsetting reminder of the gap between men’s and women’s sports viewership. 

While women’s sports viewership has seen a steady increase in the past few years, men’s sports still draw in millions of more fans. The most recent example of this discrepancy occurred at the Games’ ice hockey events. 

The gold medal match between the United States’ and Canada’s men’s ice hockey teams drew 20.7 million viewers, while the gold medal match between the same two countries on the women’s side garnered 7.7 million viewers, an astonishing 13 million difference. No doubt, the surge in viewership of women’s ice hockey since the 2022 Beijing Olympics (when the same gold medal matchup peaked at 3.54 million viewers) warrants celebration, but we must also recognize that women’s sports continues to fall short to men’s in terms of support and attention.

This gap can be seen at all stages of sports, not just at the Olympics. Summit High School’s own football team draws in more spectators than any other team. Every year, SHS students (myself included) flock to attend themed football games, despite knowing little about the game or its players. “Tradition” becomes a lame excuse for not supporting women’s teams.

According to a 2025 survey conducted by McKinsey & Company, women make up only 37% of women’s sports viewers in the United States. A majority of women’s sports viewers are men who “added (rather than substituted) women’s teams to the portfolio of sports they already follow.” 

It’s true that men are more avid sports watchers than women. Women’s sports viewers tend to be more “casual” fans, opting to watch every once in a while, compared to men’s sports viewers who are more intentional with their sports consumption. (Some viewers attribute this disparity to insufficient women’s sports coverage, but even that does not excuse the lack of women support for women’s sports.)

Women’s sports viewership needs to start with a more concerted effort by women to support female athletes. Each men’s sport we watch (without watching its women’s counterpart) is a deliberate act against what we hope to achieve. We cannot complain about the lack of support for women’s sports until we actively practice what we preach.

In his book “Think Again,” Adam Grant says, “Sexism is not just a women’s issue,” and while that is true — for change to take place, men will also need to consciously change their viewership habits —, it’s important for women to lead by example. 

In a world where the performance gap between men and women is at its narrowest, there is no excuse for women’s sports to garner less attention than men’s. But change cannot happen without our taking initiative. Support for women starts with women. 

The aim of this article is not to bash those who enjoy watching men’s sports. Personally, I’ve never missed a Homecoming football game, and I was one of the 13 million people who watched the men’s ice hockey final and not the women’s, but I now understand the importance of taking initiative. As a female athlete, I’ve found myself upset at the “hype” male athletes and their sports receive, yet haven’t done anything (until now) in my power to bridge that gap. 

So, if you (like me) are seeking to dismantle systemic sexism and narrow the viewership gender gap, consider “adding (rather than substituting)” new women’s teams into your own sports portfolio. Next time you watch a football or men’s hockey game, make the effort to attend a women’s match as well. SHS has women’s soccer and volleyball teams, as well as one of the strongest women’s rugby programs in the nation, so you’ll be sure to find entertainment and elite athleticism on display. 

This spring, I plan to attend as many women’s soccer and lacrosse games as I can in an attempt to make this change, and I urge you to do the same.