Gender Balance in Content
Women make up more than half of the population, however on average they are quoted as expert sources, appear in bylines or are the subject of stories on average just over 25% of time. Media shapes what we think about, what we believe, and what we do. That means the decisions taken by those working in, and leading, the industry are of vital importance. If the media fails to represent women as equals and stereotypes them in their jobs, societal roles and attributes, they perpetuate and reinforce gender inequalities. This applies not just to women, but to trans people, sexuality, race, class, religion and ethnicity. In most of today’s news media, women are much less likely to be featured as subjects of a story or quoted as experts compared to men.
As research has proved over and over, diversity in both content and authorship leads to higher readership, and at a time when media organisations around the world are working on increasing and maintaining higher readership levels, focusing on providing gender balanced content will help fill a gap for the organisations.
WIN aims to improve this figure by conducting training for media managers as well as providing practical tools to help newsrooms work toward greater balance and inclusivity in their content. We deliver bespoke coaching, online training as well as large-scale (virtual) workshops.
Based on Women in News 2021 research of 3419 articles from 29 media organisations across Africa and the Arab Region
Countries included: Botswana, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Rwanda, Zambia and Zimbabwe
#TakeAction
Create
Create a database of women sources
Pick
Pick images and headlines for balance
Tackle
Tackle subjects where women are underrepresented
Feature
Feature more women writers
Ban
Ban sexist and outdated stereotypes
