BBC World Service Sports Hour Interview with Shourjo Sarkar

Changing the Picture: Why Women Need to Have More Faith in Women

Breaking the Lens: Why Women Need to Back Women in Sports Photography

Changing the Picture: Why Women Need to Have More Faith in Women

The world of sports photography has long been a male-dominated space. Even as women’s sport gains more visibility on our screens, behind the lens, the imbalance remains stark. Walk into any major sporting event, and chances are, the people capturing the action are overwhelmingly men. Why? Because there’s still an ingrained social construct that assumes technical roles like photography are best left to men. That assumption isn’t just outdated; it’s limiting, for both the industry and the athletes in front of the camera. I spoke with Shourjo Sarkar on BBC World Service’s Sports Hour about my experiences as a female sports photographer and why it’s so important to challenge the notion of who gets to document sport. Women’s sport needs to be captured by those who truly understand the depth of the journey and that means more women behind the lens.

Seeing the Game Differently

There’s a misconception that women might not understand sport as well as men. But if you’ve lived and breathed it, whether as an athlete or a lifelong fan you instinctively know the game. You see the critical moments. You feel the story unfolding in front of you. It’s not about gender; it’s about skill, instinct, and experience. And yet, there’s still hesitation to trust women in these roles. Sports photography is about more than just freezing action; it’s about telling stories through movement. Women photographers bring a different perspective, one that’s not just about action, but about emotion, struggle, and triumph in ways that often get overlooked. It’s an energetic exchange. When I photograph female athletes, I know what they’ve had to overcome to get there, and that understanding shapes the images I create.

One of the biggest hurdles to getting more women in sports photography isn’t just men in the industry, it’s a lack of belief from women themselves. I’ve encountered female commissioners and editors who still hesitate to back female photographers, simply because the industry has conditioned us to expect men in those roles. If we want to change the narrative, we need more than just gender parity in decision-making roles, we need women to trust other women to do the job. That confidence is key. Women don’t need to mirror men’s approach to be successful, whether in sport or photography. By being true to ourselves, whether that’s how we compete, how we create, or how we tell stories, we redefine success on our own terms.

Shifting the Focus

The industry won’t change overnight. But every time a woman steps behind the lens at a major sporting event, every time she captures an image that redefines how we see female athletes, we move closer to breaking the outdated norms that have held us back for too long. It’s not just about more women in photography, it’s about changing expectations, rewriting the rules, and ensuring that women’s sport is seen through a lens that truly understands its power.

Changing the Face of Sports Photography

Women’s sport deserves to be seen through a lens that truly understands its power. It’s time to challenge who gets to tell the story

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