The media has tremendous power in shaping the opinions and perceptions of people worldwide. Similarly, the media plays an important role both in shaping and reflecting gender roles and stereotypes. Less than fifty years ago, journalism was an almost exclusively male profession. Female journalists were the exception and women were discouraged to enter the profession. Today, more and more women are employed as journalists. In some countries, for instance in parts of Central and Eastern Europe, women make up the majority of working journalists. In spite of this increase, the number of women in decision-making positions in the media is still very low. Gender segregation within the media profession also persists. New technologies of communication create a whole new dimension within this context, calling for increased research into women’s employment within the industry, as well as its representation of women.
At the Fourth World Conference on Women, the area of women and the media was established as one of the twelve critical areas of concern in the Platform for Action. Under this area, the UN has identified two strategic objectives. The first calls for women’s increased participation and access to the media and new technologies of communication, specifically at the decision-making level. The second objective is to promote a balanced and non-stereotyped portrayal of women in mainstream media.
The images in mass media not only reflect society, but also play a part in directing it. Whilst news media coverage reflects the gender bias in positions of influence and power in societies, it portrays the views and images of men to a much greater extent than women’s. Women’s views on national and international issues continue to be marginalized although this is to varying degrees in different countries. In short, print and electronic media in most countries do not provide a balanced picture of women’s diverse lives and contributions to society in a changing world.
Images projected of women in media communications, electronic, print, visual and audio, often give a negative and degrading picture of women, which has serious effects on the ways in which women are perceived, and hence, on their status in society. In addition, violent and degrading or pornographic media products are also negatively affecting women and their participation in society. Programming that reinforces women’s traditional roles can be equally limiting. In this context, women are often portrayed in a stereotypical way in news coverage of conflicts, which can seriously affect their ability to raise their voice in society.
The media has an important role to play in portraying women and men as equal members in societies. There is a consensus that governments, regional and international institutions (including the United Nations) should cooperate and work with private sector partners and media networks at the national and international levels to promote equal access for women and men as producers and consumers, particularly in the area of ICT. This includes through encouraging the media and the information industry consistent with freedom of expression to adopt, or develop further codes of conduct, professional guidelines and other self-regulatory guidelines to remove gender stereotypes and promote balanced portrayals of women and men.
Examples of policies in the region:
Kyrgyzstan: improving gender sensitivity in mass media
