Female journalists shun sports reporting: lack of opportunity versus lack of attractiveness Cathy Strong Massey University Abstract: There is ample evidence that sports journalism is still a male domain and that New Zealand is poor in this gender balance, despite its strength in female equality in other areas. Over recent decades women have swarmed into journalism, often making up the majority of the graduates from journalism schools and recently making up equal numbers of journalists covering hard news stories in our media. It is common to see women as political reporters, business reporters, crime reporters, or health reporters; but very few women are sports reporters in the newspaper industry. Those who do are a “rare breed”, willing and able to face extraordinary challenges. This paper examines why the bright new female journalists do not flow into the sports department as they do other departments. What is the major deflector for women to take up the challenge and turn around the low percentages? Editors say women don‟t have the interest nor skills to be sports journalist. However, the women surveyed see it a different way. They perceive that it is not a lack of opportunity, but rather a lack of attractiveness. Women with journalism qualifications and experience view working in the sports department as a detour for their career path. Strong, C. (2007). Female journalists shun sports reporting: lack of opportunity versus lack of attractiveness, Communication Journal of New Zealand, He Kohinga Korero, 8:2: p7-18.