\u201cThe report\u2019s title may not sound glamorous or sexy, but it reflects what is truly needed,\u201d said co-author Agneta S\u00f6derberg Jacobson of Fojo at an online discussion<\/a> around the report\u2019s findings on 25 November. \u201cNo single action can shift the needle.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Report co-author Malak Monir of CIMA noted that efforts to achieve gender equality in media can\u2019t end with increasing the number of women journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe can\u2019t keep trying to treat symptoms without working to discover root causes of these issues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gender equality is a global goal, and media are central to its attainment, as reflected in Section J of the Beijing Platform<\/a>, said co-author Sarah Macharia, global coordinator of WACC\u2019s Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP)<\/a>, who moderated the online discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, 25 years of GMMP stocktaking<\/a> show that \u201cprogress towards a news media industry that reflects and is representative of society remains painfully slow,\u201d she noted, with only an 8-point change towards greater gender equality in women as news sources and subjects in mainstream media from 1995 to 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Macharia said a Fojo study in 2022<\/a> revealed a \u201csparsity of policies in media organizations worldwide\u201d to address the glass ceiling for women and explored ways to make policy and legislation more effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Building on the study, Breaking Barriers brings in analysis from a series of multisector roundtables including media organizations, civil society, academia, government, self-regulatory bodies, and business, as well as commissioned abstracts by specialists, case studies, and interviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The result is some 30 distinctive recommendations mapped out in intervention pathways in three areas \u2013 media regulation; ownership, management, and leadership; market dynamics \u2013 and at three levels \u2013 micro, mesa, and macro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe three areas are deeply interconnected,\u201d Macharia observed. She presented three of the report\u2019s case studies \u2013 from India, Somalia, and Sweden \u2013 that illustrate successful interplay of actions by different stakeholders at different levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTackling the challenge of creating a gender-equal diverse and democratic news media system requires a holistic approach,\u201d she stressed, \u201cone that brings together cross-sectoral and transnational coalitions committed to designing and implementing strategies for industry-wide change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Macharia acknowledged that sustained multistakeholder dialogues for gender-sensitive co-regulatory frameworks may be challenging to implement in contexts governed by authoritarian regimes or deeply polarized societies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where there is little chance of involving the government in a whole-of-society approach, the focus must be on strengthening local media efforts to build a stronger media ecosystem, first at the local level and then between ecosystems in other countries, said Laura\u202fAguirre, journalist and co-founder of the Salvadoran independent feminist media outlet Alharaca<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is very important to maintain credibility of media ecosystem and its independence,\u201d she noted. This means including independent organizations, international bodies, neutral mediators, civil society, and other groups that can serve as watchdogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Aguirre said that even in conditions of economic instability and political crisis, independent media are striving to flourish, thrive, and survive \u2013 and women are at the forefront of these efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the same time, a further challenge is to address a mainstream perspective that gender equality is not a priority issue, according to Aguirre, who is also director of development at SembraMedia<\/a>, one of the key studies in Breaking Barriers that shows the incubation of more than 50 women-led journalism projects in Latin America. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have to develop a model not only to address democratic decline but also these narratives in [the] political [and overall] social ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The whole-of-society approach presented in Breaking Barriers is already happening to some extent, noted Yemisi Akinbobola, journalist and co-founder of African Women in Media<\/a> (AWiM).<\/p>\n\n\n\n She pointed to the Kigali Declaration<\/a> as a model of a whole-of-society intervention. Co-designed in the context of the AWiM convention 2023, the Declaration outlines a multi-sector plan of action to eliminate violence in and through the media, targeting both coverage of gender-based violence and violence in media organizations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Akinbobola highlighted that the report effectively provides a documentation and monitoring structure that makes visible what can be achievable at each level of intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This framework can be used \u201cto begin to map media development ecosystems and see activities that be developed further.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She added that it is vital not to overlook benchmarking so there is clarity on what constitutes an effective intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n Online panel discussion “A Whole-of-Society Approach to Gender Equality in the Media” on 25 November 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n Artificial intelligence was not yet on the radar when Breaking Barriers was being done, Macharia noted, a research gap that CIMA is working to close. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Analyzing content for bias and underrepresentation is one way that AI can be used to address gender equality in and through the media, reported Martin Schori, <\/strong>deputy editor-in-chief and head of editorial AI projects at the Swedish media outlet Aftonbladet<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The media organization, one of Scandinavia\u2019s largest, has used AI data mining to identify gender gaps in audiences across its platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An internal investigation, including a bot scraping all homepage content to identify who is seen and heard, revealed \u201ca big gender gap in reporting and representation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some aspects of this are not under Aftonbladet\u2019s control but others are, Schori noted, adding that the outlet has created a GPT assistant to help reporters find female experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The business argument is a convincing one, according to the journalist. \u201cWe want to represent everyone in Sweden. It\u2019s bad in many ways, not the least for business, if we systematically exclude large proportions of inhabitants.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He urged media organizations to use AI to predict how more balanced representation would benefit business and to personalize content and formats for different audiences including women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luba\u202fKassova, journalist and director of the international audience strategy consultancy\u202fAKAS<\/a>, said that research backs up the business case for gender equality in the media.<\/p>\n\n\n\nRecommendations for gender-equal media as Beijing+30 approaches<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Advancing gender-equal media in authoritarian contexts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Kigali Declaration as successful whole-of-society model<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nUsing AI to further gender equality in media<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The business case for equitable news<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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