Despite consistent lobbying from athletes and Olympic chiefs, men will contest more events – and therefore have more access to the medals that can set up a sporting career, not to mention a viable living – at the Rio games next August.

The inequity has been highlighted by the most powerful woman in Australia's Olympic ranks, vice-president of the Australian Olympic Committee Helen Brownlee, who laments that the sport she excelled in is dragging the chain.

The first Australian to win an international medal in canoeing, Brownlee used the occasion of her recent induction into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame to speak out against the continued predicament of female summer Olympians. She has since fingered cycling and boxing as sports that discriminate against female athletes.

"My own sport, canoe-kayak, unfortunately will not have equality for Rio 2016 with 16 medal events overall, but only six of those available for women," Brownlee said from Washington this week.

"Pleasingly, this imbalance is being addressed for Tokyo 2020, with the competition format being changed to achieve equality.

"Cycling and boxing are other sports with work to be done to achieve gender equality in event and athlete representation."

After female athletes made up 45 per cent of the Australian team at the 2012 London Olympics and won 57 per cent of Australia's medals, women's competition will gain unprecedented exposure during the Rio games.

Tim Worner, chief executive of Australia's free-to-air television broadcaster of the Brazil Olympics, said this week that the Seven network will dedicate a channel to female sport.

Worner announced the development at the fifth I Support Women in Sport awards in Sydney on Tuesday. It was news to many at the black-tie dinner and particularly well received in the setting.

Harvey Norman CEO Katie Page, a great supporter of women's sport and the first woman elected to the National Rugby League's board, plus an array of Australian sporting heroes including Sally Pearson, Layne Beachley, Ellyse Perry, Lydia Lassila and Susie O'Neill were among the attendees.

Brownlee said she was "absolutely delighted" by the clear measure of progress that she tipped to have tangible benefits for women's sport.

"…[it] ultimately should lead to greater sponsorship and support for women's sport, as well as inspire generations of young girls to participate in sport," she said.

"When gender equality is achieved, the participation of women athletes increases, and with increased participation the quality and performance levels also increase."

Brownlee said genuine gender equality could only be declared in a competitive Olympic setting when there was an equal number events for men and women, and an equal number of male and female athletes in each event.

The 2012 Olympics were the first summer games when women competed in every sport on the program. Of the 302 events in London 140 were women's events and women accounted for 44.2 per cent of athlete participation.

The 2014 winter Olympics marked the first where 50 per cent of the events were women's events however females accounted for 40.3 per cent of athlete participation. Women made up 51.6 per cent of the Australian team for Sochi and won 66.6 per cent of the country's medals.

BY THE NUMBERS: GENDER SPLIT IN SUMMER OLYMPICS

1900, Paris: Two women's events from 95 events total (2.1 per cent). 22 women participants (2.2 per cent)

1984, Los Angeles: 62 women's events from 221 events total (28.1 per cent). 1566 women participants (23 per cent)

2000, Sydney: 120 women's events from 300 events total (40 per cent). 4069 women participants (38.2 per cent)

2012, London: 140 women's events from 302 events total (46.4 per cent). 4676 women participants (44.2 per cent) * best result for gender equity in summer Olympics