"Pro" (there isn't of course any such category now - the licence says Elite), cycling is a business, pure and simple. Commercial companies put on races, and fund them from advertising and tv rights. Sponsors pay riders based on a balance sheet of advertising exposure versus cost. The days of the maverick enthusiast sponsors have gone, albeit that some enthusiasts like Tinkov will persuade their PR departments and find benefits to back their aspirations.
My personal view is that women's cycling has done pretty well in recent years compared with other women's sports and previous years. The UK circuit race coverage does feature women, and there is good coverage on the track. I think that women's cycling does much better in the media than many other women's sports. How much women's rugby, or hockey etc is out there. Even women's football and cricket get a tiny percentage of the coverage the men's games get. I reckon cycling does well by this measure, but can do things to make it even better.
All this is helped by some very media-friendly riders who understand what being "professional" is Laura Trott, Dani King and Lizzie Armitstead come to mind. They give good, positive interviews. They do TV, quiz shows, Laura Trott with Guy Martin etc. The same is true of the men of course - the media need personalities - think Wiggins and Hoy.
British Cycling have done a great job of making sure that riders can handle the media, and this leads to coverage. The same is happening elsewhere of course, the Netherlands with Vos. Unfortunately France and to some extent Belgium, haven't got the big winner women just now, and this affects media coverage and promotion. It is changing though. With "bankable" personalities and more Elite women (previously a typical field would be very diverse, which could lead to what looked like pretty negative racing); the media will see opportunities and coverage will increase.
Going back to my youth, most people couldn't name a woman cyclist (even Beryl Burton was low-key). Now, I bet 80% of the people in the street could name at least one.