Women in the Media

Despite all the work that has been done to achieve equality for women a new report by the World Economic Forum has shown that the gender divide has actually widened over the past ten years.

Media influence is one of the most powerful economic and cultural forces in the world today – capable of making a difference and closing that gender divide. Constituting half of the world’s population, women are critical to media success and accessibility to all has been identified as a ‘Key Pillar‘ of public service broadcasting by the Public Media Alliance. For that reason our Membership Manager, Jasmine Chandler, is in Geneva this week to contribute to two major UNESCO led meetings on gender and media; the International Development Cooperation Meeting on Gender and Media and the launch of the Global Alliance on Media and Gender. 

Jas leads our work on gender and has run regular PMA workshops on the subject. Contributing to a round table discussion as part of the International Development Cooperation Meeting on Gender and Media, Jas observed, “Half of our Audiences are women. Yet globally our industry leans towards male audience tastes. Women’s interests are substantially ignored…. we are not regarded as media ‘consumers’. Putting it bluntly; Women are not perceived to have enough economic power to be worthy of media attention!”

In preparation for the meeting Jas discovered that of the 102 PMA members, only 11 organisations have women as leaders. By deciding who gets to talk, who shapes the debate, and which stories are important enough to make the news, the media shapes our understanding of who we are and what we can be. So how the media represents women and how many women are involved throughout the industry is critical.

As an organisation we strive to lead by example, the PMA has a woman as CEO and a woman President with 50:50 gender representation on our Board and staff.

Half of our Audiences are women. Yet globally our industry leans towards male audience tastes. Women’s interests are substantially ignored

To ensure change the Public Media Alliance proposes that:

• More leadership opportunities should be created for women in the media. To be successful our industry needs leaders with diverse experiences and perspectives.

• More women are needed in decision making roles in the media in order to empower women in public life and throughout society.

• The media needs to spread awareness about successful role models that will inspire and support positive change in attitudes and behaviours.

• Strengthening women’s voices through media creates a pathway for women and young girls to make the right choices that will lead to economic independence. The media must highlight the issues that hinder girl education – like the lack of basic sanitation in schools.

• The media must tackle gender imbalance in the media, in the news, behind editors’ desks and IN the boardroom.

• Media organisations should lead from the top, forging alliances for the public interest and providing training opportunities and support for women in the media sector

• The media has a key role in empowering women. It is central to fully leveraging their skills. Informed audiences make informed choices, creating stronger, healthier societies and economies.

We will continue to work towards these goals with our members throughout the world.

Click here for more about the meetings in Geneva

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