Call to action: UN recommendation on transforming gender stereotypes to include media

05 May Call to action: UN recommendation on transforming gender stereotypes to include media

In a global context marked by increasing pushback on gender equality and shrinking civic space, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is currently receiving comments on a draft general recommendation on gender stereotypes – including gender stereotypes in media.

Of the general recommendations (GR) issued by UN treaty bodies and applied to update outdated international jurisprudence, there have been 40 so far regarding the CEDAW.

How are gender stereotypes reproduced through media and what measures should States take to transform these drivers?This is one of the questions being asked in the current process of developing the 41st general recommendation, GR41, to ensure that it responds to the lived realities of women and girls in diverse contexts.

Experts contributed evidence-based inputs at a regional consultation for East and Southern Africa on GR 41 held recently in Nairobi, Kenya, and co-organized by UN Women and the Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights.

Aid States in understanding media gender stereotypes

During the regional consultation it was noted that while the draft GR41 mandates State parties to name gender stereotypes and assess their prevalence, the text lacks language that could aid State actors in understanding exactly what media gender stereotypes are, or the shape of gender stereotypes in media. 

It would be important to indicate that media gender stereotypes play out through representation, voice, and participation. The under-representation and mis-representation of women and certain groups of women (and over-representation of men and certain groups of men); their portrayal in simplistic ways; their trivialisation, sexualisation, objectification, and representation as beings with minimal agency, if any at all – all these forms of media gender stereotypes have persisted over time. 

Require statutory regulation of media

Attention was also drawn to critical gaps in the draft GR41 regarding statutory regulatory measures. 

In light of research evidence that reveals statutory regulation on gender in media worldwide to be sparse, it was stressed that the text should name media as one of the primary institutional engines of stereotype reproduction and provide clear State obligations to audit and transform them.

The need to strengthen language around holding media accountable was also identified.

Further, with evidence showing clear links between structure and output and between media ownership concentration and political capture and anti-gender narratives, it was recommended that the text require States to mandate transparency in recruitment, gender parity targets for editorial leadership, and measures to address sexual harassment in newsrooms.

Challenge gender stereotypes with gender media watching

It was strongly urged that a recommendation be added for States to collaborate with civil society networks conducting media watching to challenge gender stereotypes and drive change.

The GMMP network was lifted up as the largest such civil society initiative – present in more than 100 countries worldwide, active over 30 years, and fuelled by the commitment and the voluntary labour of its tens of thousands of media monitors, most of them women. 

Participants of the regional consultation heard further examples of norm-changing interventions engaging media sectors that have challenged gender stereotypes – namely,gender-focussed media watching, followed by use of the evidence for change.

Mentioned were initiatives in Uganda led by Uganda Media Women’s Association (UMWA), in Kenya by African Woman and Child Feature Service (AWCFS), in Tanzania by Gender and Media in Southern Africa (GEMSA), in Ethiopia by Ethiopian Media Women Association (EMWA), in Rwanda by Pax Press, and in various West and Central African countries by Inter Africa Network for Women, Media, Gender and Development (FAMEDEV).

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Send your recommendations for GR41

The GR41 will have its first reading by the CEDAW committee in June–July and be finalized and adopted in October this year.

The Committee has invited the public to submit written comments on the draft GR41 text. Contributions must be submitted by 12 May 2026.

Please see the CEDAW Call for Comments – Draft general recommendation on gender stereotypes for more information and links to the CEDAW online submission system.

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GMMP Expert Group convenor Sarah Macharia took part in the regional consultation for East and Southern Africa on GR 41.

Image generated by WACC using Canva Magic Studio.