Main findings of the European Observatory on Gender Representation (OERG)

by Monia Azzalini

• Women journalists are quite often on screen in the European TV channels, but the awaited effect of a 'critical mass' is glimpsed only in Spain.
• Women, in one way or the other, are still ‘under-rated’ by the European news programmes.

Men are still making the news: 3011 out of 4213 people coded in 2012. Women are less than one third of news subjects and/or people interviewed by the European news programmes: 29%. Just 24% in Italy. The results, in both cases, remained the same of 2011.

Only newscasts in Spain and France have a women's visibility above the average, with percentages of women in the news of 37% (4 points more than that recorded in 2011) and 33% respectively.

In all cases, younger women are more often newsworthy. Women comprise 45% of the age group under 18 years, 44% of the age group between 19 and 34 years. On the other hand, women over 50 years are less than one every 4 men: 19% in the age group 50-64 and 17% in the age group over 64 years.

As in 2011, women receive little coverage by political information programmes, with a 20% of representation. Italy is the country with the lowest women's presence in the political news stories (13%), followed by England and Germany (19%) and, at a distance, by Spain (28%) and France (34%).

In all monitored TV channels, a clear dichotomy across men's and women's roles is noted, with women taking up mainly less important roles as unknown or ordinary persons and men the most significant roles based on professional competences.

 Women receive a relatively balanced coverage across ordinary people (48%), story tellers about personal experiences (44%) and witnesses of events (38%); while they enjoy little coverage (20% on average) across news subjects, experts/opinion makers, spokespersons (of political parties, institutions, organisations).

In this respect, Italy is the country with the highest gender imbalance: only 14% of the experts interviewed by Italian newscasts are women (the remaining 86% of experts are men). On the other hand, women are 38% of ordinary persons' opinions.

Occupations and professions

The most popular professionals appearing on the European news programmes are men:
- women are only 16% of the 1018 politicians coded,
- women are 14% of the 214 business persons, executives, managers, entrepreneurs, economists,
- women are 8% of the 208 representatives of law enforcement bodies (police),
- women are 14% of the 186 sportspersons.

Women, vice versa, have quite a balanced coverage (47%) across people whose profession or social status is not mentioned, because irrelevant for the news story itself.

Italian newscasts are characterised by the extensive amount of politicians as news subjects (about a third of the overall sample), men in 88% of the cases.

Another peculiarity of the Italian news programmes - as well as of the British ones - is the huge amount of people featuring as subjects for news stories because victims of crimes or violence (10% of the sample). However, whilst on BBC and ITV the proportion of women and men is similar (13% of women and 14% of men), the percentage of women as victims on Italian news programmes is 17% against 8% of men. No other European country records such an imbalance.

Women and men making or presenting news have apparently comparable conditions. ‘Apparently’, that is according to the findings on the visibility of the journalists (on screen, voice or author of the news story), focus of this research, and not based on official statistics about the compositions of the editorial boards.

47% of the newscasts are presented by women journalists. Italy, with a percentage of 58% - stable figure compared to last year's findings - has rates above the European average, confirming a long term trend of favouring journalists in this role.

Journalists and other media professionals

Also women journalists as correspondents or authors of news stories are numerous: 49% on average - stable rates compared to 2011. Italy records a percentage in line with the average (48%), Spain has rates considerably beyond the average with 68% of women journalists, France has rates just below the average (44%), Germany and England have rates well below the average, 35% and 28% of women journalists respectively.

The study investigates various aspects of the news stories, included the focus on female subjects: only 4% of women, as individuals or group, are central to the news, compared to 8% in 2011.

Most of the news stories with women central to the news (55%) are edited by women journalists, in line with the rates recorded in 2011 (56%), thus confirming the trend seen in the last edition of the Global Media Monitoring Project (2010) where a wider and better female representation was noted within the news stories edited by women. In Spain, 8 news stories out of 10 with women central to the news are edited by women journalists.

Methodology

The findings of this study are based on the second year of the OERG (European Observatory on Gender Representations) media monitoring, launched by the Osservatorio di Pavia on 17 January 2011 and built on the model of the Global Media Monitoring Project.

The study focused on the news programmes broadcast during pick time hours by the two main TV channels (the most popular public and private TV channels in terms of their relevance within the media system and their audience rates) of France, Germany, England, Italy and Spain: France 2 and TF 1, Ard and RTL, BBC One and ITV 1, Rai Uno and Canale 5, TVE and Telecinco.

12 news editions have been monitored for each TV channel, one per month, rotating each time the day of the week.

The research investigated: who makes the news in the newscasts (persons interviewed and persons whom the story is about), who presents and edits the news stories in the newscasts (female and male presenters, female and male journalists, correspondents and/or authors of the news stories), how the news stories are shaped, in a gender perspective.

For further information, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

http://www.osservatorio.it/cont/oerg/oerg.php

The Research Centre for Gender, Family and Environment in Development (CGFED) in Vietnam proudly introduces a new Vietnamese-language training resource on gender-sensitive journalism.

Nào cùng chuyển động (Let’s move) was developed primarily for students and lecturers in the Academy of Journalism and Communication (Vietnam).

The resource is an output of a WACC-supported project whose broader purpose was to create gender-progressive young communicators.Through the project, CGFED built capacity of the Academy’s journalism students to understand gender sensitivity and justice as intrinsic to the practice of professional journalism.

A photo bulletin produced by the students “‘Gender view through the lens” through the same project depicts striking photographs on the theme of gender sensitive media practice.

Reflecting on the project experience, the Centre’s Program Officer Cao Ho Thu Thuy remarked that gender concerns are generally not a focus for journalists-in-training. “They are attracted to the technical aspects of journalism”. The project inspired the students to ask questions about journalists’ roles and responsibilities in society; the students’ words “Media not only convey information, they also drive public opinion. Media can promote human development, but can also hinder progress” appearing on the cover of the photo bulletin visibly manifest the new awareness.

Plans are underway to integrate Nào cùng chuyển động into the Academy’s journalism studies curriculum.

The Research Centre for Gender, Family and Environment in Development (CGFED) is a non-governmental organisation established in 1993 out of concerns about women’s development and gender equity in Vietnam.The Centre co-ordinates the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) in Vietnam.

Contacts: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . www.cgfed.org.vn.

download the photo bulletin here.

download Nào cùng chuyển động here.

Women make the news campaign 2013

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) invites media professionals and civil society to participate in this year's Women Make the News campaign. The campaign is launched annually on the occasion of International Women’s Day, 8 March.

The 2013 campaign aims at fixing global attention on issues related to gender equality in and through the media. It also seeks to stir debate and encourage actions geared towards meeting the objective of media content and professional practice that promote and sustain gender equality.

Themed 'towards a global alliance on media and gender' this year's campaign is linked to the Global Forum on Media and Gender planned for November this year. The Forum will purpose to draw attention to the need for global action to follow up on commitments enshrined in Section 'J' ('women and the media' ) of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

Section 'J' contains specific actions to: (i) Increase the participation and access of women to expression and decision-making in and through the media and new technologies of communication; and, (ii) Promote a balanced and non-stereotyped portrayal of women in the media.

Media organizations, professional associations, journalists’ unions, media practitioners and civil society are invited to use 8 March to share thoughts on possible forms of a global alliance on gender and media, as well as priority themes for the November Forum.

Learn how you can participate here.

The December 2012 issue of the International Federation of Journalists' (IFJ) Gender Newsletter is now available.

Articles featured include:

• Promoting fair gender portrayal within media houses and the journalistic profession
• IFJ/EJF hold gender conference in Athens and release best practices handbook
• UNESCO publishes gender-sensitive indicators for media
• New guide looks at Arab women portrayal in the media

Download your copy at: http://www.ifj.org/assets/docs/041/219/2102b29-3b709db.pdf

28 novembre 2012

Pour la promotion d’une représentation respectueuse de l’égalité homme-femme au sein des entreprises du secteur des médias et de la profession journalistique

L’Association mondiale pour la communication chrétienne (WACC) et la Fédération Internationale des Journalistes (FIJ) lancent aujourd’hui un nouvel outil pour promouvoir le journalisme éthique respectueux de l’égalité homme-femme.

La trousse d’apprentissage pour un journalisme éthique dans le domaine du genre et des politiques au sein des médias est le résultat d’un projet lancé en juillet 2011 pour promouvoir une représentation juste des hommes et des femmes au sein des entreprises du secteur des médias et de la profession journalistique.

La trousse se fonde sur les connaissances des professionnels des médias, des éducateurs et des chercheurs en communication d'Afrique, d'Asie, des Caraïbes, d'Europe, d'Amérique latine, d’Amérique du Nord et du Pacifique. Elle rassemble des conseils pratiques pour améliorer la représentation des femmes dans les contenus médiatiques et encourager le dialogue au sein des entreprises de médias et des organismes d'autoréglementation, ainsi que des membres de la société civile.

Les auteurs notent que «représenter les hommes et les femmes d'une manière équitable et éthique ne sera possible que lorsque cela sera devenu une préoccupation pour chacun dans la salle de rédaction et au-delà. Journalistes, photographes, rédacteurs/rédactrices, cameramen/camerawomen, dessinateurs/dessinatrices, employeurs des médias, organismes d'autorégulation, écoles de journalistes, associations et syndicats, tous ont un rôle à jouer pour s'assurer que les médias deviennent un miroir réel de la société. Les acteurs de la société civile peuvent soutenir ce processus par la surveillance des contenus, le dialogue et l’instauration de partenariats positifs avec les médias ».

La trousse est organisée en deux livres. Le Livre 1 se concentre sur les questions conceptuelles relatives au genre dans la couverture des nouvelles. Le Livre 2 présente des lignes directrices thématiques respectueuses de l’égalité homme-femme lors de la couverture du changement climatique, des catastrophes, des informations économiques, de la santé affective et reproductive, de la traite des êtres humains, de la paix et de la sécurité, de la politique et de la violence sexuelle.

Le Projet mondial de monitorage des médias publié en 2010 révèle qu’à peine une personne sur quatre parmi celles vues, lues ou entendues dans les reportages est une femme. C’est une amélioration par rapport au monitorage effectué il y a 15 ans, lorsque moins d’une personne sur cinq était une femme. Toutefois, l’évolution est lente. «Nous savons qu’un journalisme de qualité est un journalisme éthique, et que le journalisme éthique inclut une représentation pleine et équitable des actions, opinions, préoccupations et aspirations des femmes à travers le monde», commente Lavinia Mohr, Secrétaire générale adjointe de la WACC. Cette dernière espère que ce nouvel outil aidera les décideurs des médias, les professionnels des médias et les publics engagés des médias à augmenter le rythme de l'évolution vers une représentation équitable des femmes dans les reportages.

«Ces dernières années, le manque d'équilibre entre les sexes dans la couverture des nouvelles a été l'une des grandes préoccupations de la FIJ dans le cadre de sa défense du journalisme éthique ", déclare la Secrétaire général de la FIJ, Beth Costa. «La trousse d’apprentissage répond à cette question. Il s'agit d'un outil unique pour les professionnels des médias, les formateurs du secteur et les employeurs des médias pour réfléchir à la façon dont le sexe est représenté dans l’information et réfléchir à nouveau aux effets qu’une représentation non-respectueuse de l’égalité homme-femme peut avoir sur la perception que se forme le public de la société. "

La trousse d’apprentissage, disponible en anglais, arabe, français et espagnol, peut être téléchargée gratuitement sur les sites suivants: www.whomakesthenews.org et www.ifj.org.

Complément d’information sur les éditeurs

Active dans le développement des médias depuis plus de 25 ans, la WACC est une organisation œcuménique internationale avec des membres dans plus de 120 pays. La WACC a coordonné le Projet mondial de monitorage des médias qui a, tous les 5 ans depuis 1995, étudié le contenu informatif produit par les journalistes, reporters, présentateurs et annonceurs à la radio, à la télévision et dans la presse écrite à partir d'une perspective d’égalité entre les sexes.

Contact: Terry Mutuku - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Tel: +1 416 691 1999 ext 232

La FIJ, la plus grande organisation mondiale de journalistes, défend le journalisme éthique. En 2008, l'organisation a lancé l'Initiative pour un journalisme éthique (IJE) pour renouveler l’engagement des professionnels des médias envers leur mission de fournir au public une couverture de l’information qui soit équitable, impartiale et bien documentée, avec un accent particulier sur la lutte contre les stéréotypes et la garantie d’une représentation équitable des femmes dans le contenu des nouvelles.

Contact: Pamela Morinière - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Tel: +32 2 235 22 16

28 de Noviembre 2012

Por el fomento de una descripción justa del género en los medios de comunicación y en la profesión periodística

La Asociación Mundial por la Comunicación Cristiana (WACC, según sus siglas en inglés) y la Federación Internacional de Periodistas (FIP), lanzan hoy una nueva herramienta para promover el periodismo ético.

Las herramientas de aprendizaje para un periodismo de género-ético y políticas en las empresas editoriales son el resultado de un proyecto, impulsado desde julio de 2011, que trata de promover una descripción justa del género en los medios y en el periodismo.

Estas herramientas surgen de la práctica de profesionales de la información, de educadores e investigadores de la comunicación, de África, Asia, el Caribe, Europa, América Latina, Norteamérica y el Pacífico. Contiene directrices para realzar la representación de las mujeres en los contenidos de los medios y para animar al diálogo en su interior, junto a órganos de autorregulación y grupos de la sociedad civil.

Los editores señalan que “reflejar el género de manera equilibrada y ética sólo es posible cuando todos se preocupan por ello en la sala de redacción y más allá. Periodistas, fotógrafos, redactores jefes, camarógrafos y camarógrafas, caricaturistas, empleadores mediáticos, órganos de autorregulación, escuelas de periodismo, asociaciones y sindicatos, todos tienen un papel que jugar para que los medios sean el verdadero espejo de la sociedad. Los actores de la sociedad civil pueden apoyar este proceso supervisándolo, mediante el diálogo y las colaboraciones positivas con los medios”.

Las herramientas se exponen en dos libros. El Libro 1 se concentra en conceptos sobre el género en las noticias. El Libro 2 contiene directrices éticas por temas, sobre cobertura del cambio climático, desastres, actualidad económica, salud sexual y reproducción, tráfico de seres humanos, paz y seguridad, política y violencia sexual.

El Proyecto de Monitoreo de los Medios Globales reveló un promedio global de apenas una mujer por cada cuatro hombres en las noticias radiadas, leídas o vistas. Es una mejora con relación a hace 15 años, cuando sólo se veía una entre cinco. Sin embargo, el paso es lento. “Sabemos que el periodismo de calidad es periodismo ético y que éste contiene una representación justa y completa de los actos, opiniones, preocupaciones y aspiraciones de las mujeres de todo el mundo”, ha comentado la Secretaria General Adjunta de la WACC, Lavinia Mohr, quien espera que la nueva herramienta ayude a quienes toman las decisiones en los medios, a los profesionales y al público comprometido, a incrementar el ritmo del cambio hacia una representación y reflejo adecuados de las mujeres en las noticias.

“En los pasados años, la falta de equilibrio de género en la elaboración de las noticias ha sido una de las mayores preocupaciones de los más significados periodistas”, ha declarado la Secretaria General de la FIP, Beth Costa. “Esta herramienta responde a esa preocupación. Es un útil único para los profesionales de los medios, para sus formadores y para los dueños de los de los medios, para constatar cómo se refleja en las noticias y para pensar de nuevo los efectos sesgados de la imagen que el género tiene en la percepción pública de la sociedad”.

Las herramientas están disponibles en árabe, inglés, francés y español. Puede descargarse gratuitamente en

www.whomakesthenews.org y en www.ifj.org.

Más información sobre los responsables editoriales

La WACC es una organización ecuménica internacional, activa en el desarrollo de los medios durante más de 25 años, con miembros en más de 120 países. La WACC coordina el Proyecto de Monitoreo Global de los Medios que –desde 1995 y cada 5 años- supervisa mundialmente la producción de noticias, por parte de periodistas, reporteros, presentadores y anunciantes de radio, televisión, así como de medios impresos, desde una perspectiva de igualdad de género.

Pueden contactar con: Terry Mutuku en This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Teléfono: +1 416 691 1999 extensión 232

La FIP es la mayor organización de los periodistas, comprometida en la promoción del periodismo ético.

En 2008, esta organización lanzó su Iniciativa por un Periodismo Ético (EJI, según sus siglas en inglés) para ayudar a reconciliar a los profesionales de los medios con su misión de aportar al público una información bien documentada y no sesgada, que se centre en la lucha contra los estereotipos y que aporte una imagen justa de género al contenido de las noticias.

Pueden contactar con: Pamela Morinière This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Tel. +32 2 235 22 16

Promoting fair gender portrayal within media houses and the journalistic profession

Toronto, 28 November 2012.

The World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today launch a new resource to promote gender ethical journalism.

The Learning Resource Kit for Gender-Ethical Journalism and Media House Policy is the outcome of a project launched in July 2011 to promote fair gender portrayal within media houses and the journalistic profession.

The kit draws from the insights of media practitioners, educators and communication researchers from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, North America and Pacific. It brings together practical guidelines to enhance women’s representation in media content and encourage dialogue within media structures and self-regulatory bodies together with civil society groups.

The editors note that “portraying gender in a fair and ethical manner will only occur when it becomes a concern for everyone in the newsroom and beyond. Journalists, photographers, news editors, camerawomen and cameramen, cartoonists, media employers, self-regulatory bodies, journalists’ schools, associations and unions, all have a role to play in ensuring that media become an effective mirror of society. Civil society actors can support this process through monitoring, dialogue and positive partnerships with media”.

The kit is organised in two books. Book 1 concentrates on conceptual issues about gender in news reporting. Book 2 presents gender-ethical thematic guidelines on reporting climate change, disaster, economic news, sexual and reproductive health, human trafficking, peace and security, politics, and sexual violence.

The 2010 Global Media Monitoring Project revealed a global average of barely one woman in every four people was seen, heard or read about in news stories. This is an improvement from 15 years ago when it was less than one in five. However, the pace is slow. “We know that quality journalism is ethical journalism, and that ethical journalism includes full and fair representation of the actions, opinions, concerns and aspirations of women around the world,” comments WACC’s Deputy General Secretary Lavinia Mohr. She hopes that the new resource will help media decision makers, media professionals and engaged media audiences increase the pace of change towards fair representation and portrayal of women in reporting.

“In the past years, the lack of gender balance in news reporting has been one of IFJ's greatest concerns in upholding journalists' ethics,” said IFJ General secretary Beth Costa.

“This resource kit responds to this. It is a unique tool for media professionals, media trainers and media employers to reflect on the way gender is portrayed in the news and think again about the effects biased gender portrayal can have on the public's perception of society.”

The Learning Resource Kit available in Arabic, English, French and Spanish may be downloaded free of charge at www.whomakesthenews.org and www.ifj.org.

More on the publishers

Active in media development for more than 25 years, WACC is an international ecumenical organisation with members in more than 120 countries. WACC has coordinated the Global Media Monitoring Project which every 5 years since 1995 has monitored the output of news journalists, reporters, presenters and announcers on radio, television and print media worldwide from a gender equality perspective.

Contact: Terry Mutuku at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Tel: +1 416 691 1999 ext 232

The IFJ, the world’s largest organisation of journalists, is eager to promote ethical journalism. In 2008 the organization launched the Ethical Journalism Initiative (EJI) to encourage the reconciliation of media professionals with their mission to provide the public with fair, unbiased, well documented news reporting, with a particular focus on fighting against stereotypes and providing fair gender portrayal in news content.

Contact: Pamela Morinière This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Tel. +32 2 235 22 16

“A gender lens can reveal whether or not an event or process affects women and men, girls and boys in particular ways, thereby allowing reporters to uncover a possible gender angle that may well add a significant and striking dimension to the story. A gender lens can also facilitate broader and deeper insights into the range of events and issues covered by the media”.  

                                             — Learning Resource Kit for Gender-Ethical Journalism. Book 1: Conceptual issues. WACC/IFJ, 2012.

This month marks a new milestone in the quest for gender equality in and through the media. Media practitioners now have at their disposal a unique resource kit to help build expertise in integrating gender ethics in their practice of professional journalism. The kit is a collaborative initiative by WACC and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

It became increasingly clear to WACC while co-ordinating the Fourth Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP 2010) process that there exists an appreciable mass of media practitioners motivated to learn how to respond to the critique of gender bias in their output. This said in awareness of the structural constraints in the broader media operating environment that impede radical change.

It was also clear that the building blocks for gender-ethical media practice were already in place in the form of codes of ethics in which principles such as truth, accuracy, objectivity, balance, fairness and accountability are accepted as basic tenets of journalistic professional practice.

It is from this point of departure that the resource kit sets off, articulating the tenets through a gender lens, as a wholistic, multi-dimensional understanding necessarily needs to be infused also with reflections about gender, or, how gender difference intersects with professional ethics. Excerpts from the kit are featured in this issue of Media & Gender Monitor.

Undoubtedly, civil society are implicated in the change process. To borrow the words of Sandra Lopez (pg.8) “Our collective efforts must include the task of awareness-raising, […], as a process of debate and demystification” of hitherto unquestioned prevailing attitudes and practices underpinning gender bias, inequalities, discrimination and exclusion.

This issue of Media & Gender Monitor presents case studies of civil society experiences in working with media. A remarkable case study out of Ecuador demonstrates how one grassroots organisation has mobilized the citizens of an entire city—the local government officials and media included—to participate in the Citizens’ Communication Observatory running since 2004.

This issue profiles the work of WACC’s partners in Africa, Asia and Latin America undertaking innovative projects to advance gender-responsive media practice.

Also featured are resources to support media monitoring, policy change advocacy and spaces available for networking.

We hope the stories will not only be inspirational but eye-opening as well in revealing opportunities to evolve our strategies for a continued and fruitful engagement.

Sarah Macharia, Editor

Download Media & Gender Monitor Issue 23 here.

Presentación del Manual  “Hacia un periodismo con conciencia de género: Creando buenas prácticas”

de Marcela Gabioud, Buenos Aires

El próximo martes 13 de noviembre  de  17.00 hs.  a 18.00 hs. en la  Sala DANIEL BOGGIO en la Carpa de la Plaza Mitre, presentaremos el Manual  “Hacia un periodismo con conciencia de género: creando buenas prácticas”.

Con el objetivo de difundir  y compartir este manual, los invitamos a acompañarnos, en la 8° edición de la Feria del Libro de la ciudad de Mar del Plata.  Nuestro objetivo es poder llegar a periodistas y estudiantes para que puedan obtener las  herramientas necesarias para el abordaje periodístico de las noticias que involucren perspectiva de género.

Es por eso que invitamos a periodistas y estudiantes de las distintas carreras de comunicación, que aun no tienen su ejemplar a que se acerquen el próximo lunes 13 de noviembre  de   17.00 hs.   a 18.00 hs. en la  Sala DANIEL BOGGIO en la Carpa de la Plaza Mitre.

En esta oportunidad, podremos ampliar la presentación al público en general, y de esta forma cumplir con uno de los objetivos que tiene este manual de buenas prácticas, que es la sensibilización y concientización en la construcción de la noticia con perspectiva de género. Al finalizar la presentación se entregaran manuales a los presentes.

El Manual es el resultado de un proyecto financiado por la Asociación Mundial para la Comunicación Cristiana, WACC  por sus siglas en inglés, presentado y elaborado  por la Asociación Civil de la Azotea.

Esperamos que puedan acompañarnos el próximo Lunes 13 de Noviembre de 2012,  de   17.00 HS a 18.00 hs. en la 8ª Feria del Libro “Mar del Plata Puerto de Lectura 2012,  en la  Sala DANIEL BOGGIO en la Carpa de la Plaza Mitre.


Contacto:

Lic. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , teléfono 223-155-186824,

JorgelinaTurdo, teléfono 223-156-826018

A proposal by the African Woman and Child Features Service

The African Woman and Child Features Service (Kenya) has proposed a gender policy template for media houses following consultations with journalists and editors.

The template was developed in the context of a project “Gender awareness and balanced reporting in the media”, an initiative funded by the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) during the period January 2011 to January 2012. While the template was designed primarily for the local media houses, it may be adapted and localized for other contexts, retaining the relevant elements as needed.

Download the template here.

For further information, contact the African Woman and Child Features Services at:

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

URL: www.awcfs.org

A challenge to media professionals to realise democracy in practice, quality in journalism and an end to gender stereotyping

Prepared by Joke Hermes, Ph.D., for the Council of Europe's Steering Committee for Equality between Women and Men, (CDEG).

The objectives of the resource are two-fold: First, to invite media professionals to "re-think professional practice when it comes to the representation of women and men, especially in terms of gender stereotyping"; and, second, to provide "arguments, insights and examples of what gender stereotyping is, and how to combat it".

Motivation to develop the resource stemmed from the Council of Europe's concern for human rights and freedom from discrimination, including on the basis of sex. (see Article 14 on prohibition of discrimination, European Convention on Human Rights).

The 35-page resource presents some facts on fair portrayal, reveals openings to strengthen accountable journalism as a means to tackle gender stereotyping, and provides tools to combat stereotyping in media and communication practice.

The resource is available for free download at:

http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/standardsetting/equality/03themes/women-media/CDEG_2011_15_en_handbook.pdf

The July 2012 issue of the International Federation of Journalists' (IFJ) Gender Newsletter is now available.

Articles featured include:

• Where are women in media leadership?
• Zimbabwe Union of Journalists launches campaign against sexual harassment in the media
• European Federation of Journalists adopts sexual harassment policy
• Cyprus media regulator says magazine violates ethics codes over sex content

Download your copy at: http://www.ifj.org/assets/docs/033/201/9ecfb21-eba68c9.pdf

 Sharon Bhagwan-Rolls of FemLINKPACIFIC (Fiji), Pacific region co-ordinator of the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) has been appointed to the UN Women's new Global Civil Society Advisory Group.

The announcement was made on May 17, 2012 in New York by UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet. According to a report from the Women's UN Report Network (WUNRN), the Global Civil Society Advisory Group will facilitate regular consultations and dialogue between civil society and UN Women. The Group serves as a consultative forum for UN Women.

“I am delighted that a group of outstanding international women’s rights advocates and experts on gender issues have agreed to serve on my Global Civil Society Advisory Group. They will play an important consulting role, and provide strategic perspectives on advocacy on gender equality and women’s empowerment and on UN Women’s thematic priorities,” said Ms. Bachelet. “They will also help strengthen UN Women’s engagement and partnerships with civil society at all levels. I look forward to working together towards our common goals,” she added.

The report notes that the establishment of UN Women Civil Society Advisory Groups at the global, regional and national levels was announced earlier this year at the 56th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. The Global Group appointed by the Executive Director is based on wide consultation with civil society networks and nominations from civil society organizations. All members have proven track records of work in areas related to gender equality and women’s empowerment, and bring diverse experience and expertise to the group. Members include grassroots, rural and community-based leaders, leaders of indigenous people’s groups, feminist scholars, human rights lawyers, and male leaders working on gender and women’s rights issues.

A dedicated women's rights activist, Bhagwan-Rolls has maintained a consistent lobby for the implementation of international and regional commitments to improve the status of women in and through the media. She is also a strong advocate for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.

The report notes that national and regional civil society advisory groups are currently being set up by UN Women regional and country offices, and a dedicated global website will be established for information sharing between the civil society groups and UN Women.

Source: Women's UN Report Network (WUNRN), http://www.wunrn.com. 17 May 2012.

Mapping Gender & Media is an online archive that provides access to information concerning individuals, organizations, policy documents and other resources that are relevant to gender-oriented communication governance in the trans-national context. This is understood as the sum of supra-national governing arrangements that promote a social agenda for change based on gender equity in and through any form of mediated communication.

The dataset Mapping Gender & Media is a thematic section of a broader archive devoted to Mapping Global Media Policy*. The Mapping Gender & Media section is a starting point to focus on the gendered dimensions of communication policies and broader governance processes. Moreover, this is the first global initiative that adopts an innovative approach – data collection, organization and visualization – concerning this specific topic.

Access the dataset here: http://www.globalmediapolicy.net/node/849

The Mapping Gender & Media thematic island contributes to mainstreaming the topic at universities, supports the organization of debates and discussions, gives voice to communities who may want to contribute further information or comments and promotes publications on the issue.

Created as a thematic section in the Globalmediapolicy.net platform, Mapping Gender & Media allows to visualize archived data in different ways:

• listing, searching and exploring single profiles
• filtering the overall thematic section according to levels of action, themes and relevant policy processes
• explore connections and disconnections amongst profiles through network visualizations.

Initiated as part of a research project conducted at the University of Padova (2011-2013), Mapping Gender & Media can now be used for scholarly analyses, teaching activities, advocacy initiatives. The thematic section will be expanded, with the contribution of interested subjects, to make it an even more relevant resource to support informed participation of interested individuals and organizations in upcoming policy processes such as Beijing +20, MDG and WSIS+10.

For information, comments and suggestions, please contact:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

* Mapping Global Media Policy:

Mapping Global Media Policy is an independent project initiated by the Global Media Policy Working Group of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR), hosted and supported by an academic consortium led by Media@McGill, a research and public outreach hub based at McGill University (Canada), and including University of Padova (Italy) and the Center for Media and Communication Studies (CMCS) at Central European University (Hungary).

More thematic sections (‘islands’) are being created within the project and can be explored at: http://www.globalmediapolicy.net/islands.

For information concerning the objectives and structure of the Mapping project, as well as scenarios of use of the digital platform see: http://www.globalmediapolicy.net/node/20. 

L’Association mondiale pour la communication chrétienne (WACC) exhorte ses réseaux, membres et partenaires de la société civile, les associations de professionnels des médias et les organisations de médias de participer à la campagne de l’UNESCO Les femmes font l’info à l’occasion de la Journée internationale de la femme le 8 mars 2012.

Les campagnes de la Journée internationale de la femme intensifient les exigences pour le respect des droits civils, politiques, économiques, sociaux et culturels fondamentaux des femmes. La WACC favorise le droit à la communication comme droit humain fondamental qui requiert des espaces et des ressources dans la sphère publique afin que tout le monde participe à un débat transparent, informé et démocratique.

Depuis une perspective fondée sur les droits, le thème de la campagne 2012 Les femmes font l’info, l’accès des femmes rurales aux médias et à l’information, « vise à souligner et stimuler l’échange des connaissances sur: l’importance des politiques en faveur de l’accès aux médias et à l’information dans les communautés rurales, en particulier pour les femmes; et sur les bonnes pratiques dans ce domaine menées par les radio- et télédiffuseurs publics, les médias commerciaux et communautaires, ainsi que les ONG. »

Seulement 12 % des sujets des nouvelles dans les reportages sur les préoccupations de la communauté rurale sont des femmes (Projet mondial de monitorage des médias, WACC, 2010) et pourtant les statistiques montrent que les femmes représentent plus de 50 % des populations rurales. Preuve qui démontre la sous-représentation significative des femmes en milieu rural ainsi que leur manque de visibilité et de voix dans les reportages d’importance pour elles.

Dans son travail avec les communautés rurales à Fidji, le partenaire de la WACC, FemLINKPacific a constaté que les médias communautaires « ont permis aux femmes rurales de dialoguer avec les décideurs... processus qui a donné aux femmes une chance d’être entendues et a créé un espace pour les femmes dans l’arène politique » (a dit Sharon Bhagwan Rolls, lors d’une session tenue aux réunions de la Commission sur le statut de la femme, en 2012, à New York).

De ce fait, la WACC fait appel à ses réseaux, membres et partenaires à se joindre à l’initiative qui se déroule du 8 mars, Journée internationale de la femme, au 30 avril 2012. Les rédacteurs en chef des journaux, de la radio et de la télévision sont encouragés à confier aux femmes journalistes et reporters les responsabilités éditoriales pour la salle de presse au cours de cette période. Les organisations de médias, les associations professionnelles, les syndicats de journalistes, les femmes et les hommes travaillant dans les médias et la société civile sont invités à partager leurs réflexions sur le thème en visitant la plateforme en ligne.

Pour en savoir plus sur les 13 façons de participer, veuillez visiter http://www.unesco.org/new/fr/communication-and-information/crosscutting-priorities/gender/women-make-the-news/

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L’Association mondiale pour la communication chrétienne (WACC) est une organisation internationale qui favorise la communication comme droit humain fondamental, essentiel à la dignité et à la communauté des personnes. La WACC compte 343membres personnels et 250 membres institutionnels dans 120 pays répartis dans huit associations régionales. Le Projet mondial de monitorage des médias est une initiative du programme Médias et justice pour les genres de la WACC.