Combining her passion for sport with her love of writing, May Chen has charted a new path for female sports journalists in Singapore. Formerly a beat writer for The Straits Times Sports Desk in Singapore and the Senior Production Editor with the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, May is now a freelance journalist for a number of organizations, most notably the International Olympic Committee. While with The Straits Times, she was awarded one of only two spots to cover the London Olympic Games in 2012, was named Young Journalist of the Year, and was nominated for a Singapore Sports Award for the most inspiring sports story of the year. 

May is using her platform as a renowned journalist to raise awareness around the importance of a balanced newsroom, one that supports women as sports reporters and one that expands its women’s sports coverage. “In Singapore, like most other countries, men’s sports are the priority,” May says. “Giving girls opportunities to participate in sports or sports careers would open up our society. When it comes to the news, there is no difference between what I do and what the guys do – I write, they write. Seems simple to me.”