The New York Liberty will be in Chicago on Tuesday night to take on the Sky in an important W.N.B.A. (Women’s National Basketball Association) game. The United States women’s soccer team will be in Montreal for a critical World Cup match against Germany.

We’re busting through barriers in the business (and political) worlds … but there has to be the same enthusiasm for doing it in sports

Putting it bluntly, Cash says, “I think women have to start supporting women.”

This is often the fate of high-level women’s athletics. Americans support the idea of women’s sports, but not necessarily to the degree of reaching into their pockets to buy tickets or giving up a day to attend a game.

Unless there is a high-profile event, like the World Cup or the Olympics, mainstream sports coverage remains dominated by the men who play football, basketball, baseball, hockey and soccer.

I think women have to start supporting women

The million-dollar question for the W.N.B.A. — and for less established organizations like the National Women’s Soccer League, which employs most of the World Cup team — has been how to attract a wider audience to watch supremely talented professionals compete against one another.

Cheryl Cooky, an associate professor of women’s, gender and sexuality studies at Purdue, points the finger at the news media, which she said drives interest and creates the appetite.”

Sports media have largely ignored the … explosion in participation in sports by girls

She argues that while there has been an explosion in participation in sports by girls, and in the development of pro leagues and college opportunities for women, the sports media has largely ignored the changes.

“Sports media has not captured that growth,” Cooky said.

“All of this is a vicious cycle,” she said. “Advertiser revenue is tied to viewer ratings, and viewer ratings are shaped by media coverage.”