Slide1: Empowering Women through Traditional and Emerging Media Panel Chair: Peri Shamsai Panel Members: Lori Post, Diane Butts, Julia Wilson Friday 8 June 2007


Media is increasingly being recognized as a critical arena for promoting gender equity : Media is increasingly being recognized as a critical arena for promoting gender equity The first 3 UN conferences on women from 1975-85 barely mentioned media 1995 Beijing Platform for Action on Women in Media was the first UN conference on women to emphasize Media as a key area for promoting gender equity 2000 review of the implementation of the Beijing Declarations and Platform for Action Information & Communication Technologies (ICTs) was called out as a major area of focus for empowering women WFEO conference has followed suit in including a panel on media in its “Women and Technology” conference The media discussed include “Traditional Media”, which focus on TV, radio, newspapers, music and film “Emerging Media”, including Internet and Mobile Note: The views presented in the panel are those of the panel participants and do not represent the views of their institutions of affiliation.


Examinations of gender roles in traditional media have focused on three key areas: Examinations of gender roles in traditional media have focused on three key areas Women’s employment in media industries While data is difficult to obtain, it appears as though women have made little progress in this arena Women represent a paltry 3% of the senior media workforce globally The EU and US have higher female employment in the media industries, representing 9% and 12% respectively These numbers are significantly below women’s employment in Fortune 500 companies, which tend to range around 16%1 Women in Traditional Media Workforce2 1 1Catalyst (2005) 2Margaret Gallagher, “Women, Media and Democratic Society” UN-DAW (2002) and The Annenberg Public Policy Center (2001)


The two other arenas of traditional media analysis also show few signs of improvement : The two other arenas of traditional media analysis also show few signs of improvement Women’s under-representation in media The Global Media Monitoring Project surveyed women’s representation in news globally Found that women have grown only marginally from 17% of news subjects to 21% between 1995 and 2005 Negative stereotyping of women in the media Depictions of women in the news media globally tend to focus on their status as celebrities and their negative roles in legal or social events, rather than focusing on their contributions to politics & government 17% 18% 21% Women News Subjects Globally 3 2 Women as News Subjects Globally Source: Global Media Monitoring Project (2006)


This treatment of women is out-of-sync with real progress women have made in politics: 1Facts and Figures on Women’s Participation in Politics, Governance, and Decision-Making, Online Women in Politics (2002) and Women Elected in 2003: The Year in Perspective (Jan 2004) 2Women’s Learning Partnership (2002) This treatment of women is out-of-sync with real progress women have made in politics Women’s parliamentary representation has grown Women’s representation in parliaments globally has grown from 3% in 1945 to over 15% by the January 2004 elections But senior leadership positions are far fewer2 Out of 180 countries, 14 are head-ed by women & 6 women are Vice Presidents With 49% of seats won by women in the recent parliamentary elections Rwanda became the country that has the most number of women parliamentarians in the world (No 2: women in Sweden hold 45%) Women in Parliaments Globally1 CAGR 6.88%


In contrast to traditional media, emerging media show little gender gap: 1The Digital Future Report: Surveying the Digital Future Year Four (USC Annenberg School, 2004) 2World Internet Project (UCLA Center for Communication Policy, 2002-2003). Countries included Britain, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Korea, Macao, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan and the US with age ranges from 12-80. Gender Gap in Global Internet Use1 In contrast to traditional media, emerging media show little gender gap The Digital Future Report shows that the gap has been decreasing globally from 7.5% in 2000 to 2.5% in 2003 The World Internet Project docu-mented a larger average gap of 8% in 2003 This gap varies widely by region with the US averaging only a 4% gap and Southern Europe averaging nearly a 15% gap Mobile penetration rates in developing countries tends to be higher than Internet access rates Emerging media are offering new forms of economic empowerment for women by providing cheaper, faster & easier access to consumers & businesses (i.e., C2C, B2C & B2B) Gender Gap in Internet Use by Region2


Today’s panel will explore these areas of new opportunities opening up for women in media: Today’s panel will explore these areas of new opportunities opening up for women in media What are some of the major gender trends in traditional and emerging media? How are these developments being used to empower women? What can women do to further promote positive images of women throughout all media forms?


Today’s panelists represent leaders in both traditional & emerging technologies: Today’s panelists represent leaders in both traditional & emerging technologies Diane Butts, Head of Africa Division Television Voice of America Spent more than 15 years producing TV programming for viewers in Sub-Saharan Africa Areas of focus include politics, health (e.g., HIV/AIDS), human rights, gender equality & gender violence Work emphasizes the changing roles of women in Sub-Saharan Africa Julia Wilson, President & Founder of Wilson Global Communications (WGC) Ran WGC from Johannesburg and Accra, Ghana for five years Creator, executive producer and host of “On the Continent,” an international television program focusing on progress and development in Africa Produced marketing campaigns & run special events for African dignitaries and major corporations, including Coke, AREVA T&D, First Lady Senator Hilary Rodham Clinton & the President of Liberia Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf Lori Post, Michigan State University Assistant Dean for Research in the College of Communication Arts & Sciences Assistant Prof. in the Dept. of Telecommunication, Information Studies & Media Areas of research include technology and gender studies, with a regional specialization on Africa Advisor to city, state & federal organizations to reduce violence against women Secured > $15M for research on the impact of technology to improve public health and violence against women.


Question 1a: What are some of the major gender trends in traditional media? : Question 1a: What are some of the major gender trends in traditional media? Julia Women are increasingly becoming decision-makers and socially empowered with political authority in government, private industry and media organizations. The number of women in politics has grown in recent years, they are still under-represented and face innumerable obstacles to full participation. In 2006, less than 17 percent of parliamentarians were women, according to IPU, and elected women head only 13 of the world’s 194 states and governments, as reported by the Worldwide Guide to Women in Leadership. Women’s images in advertising are also starting to change (Advertising Educational Foundation) Women journalists are also taking up the cause, becoming more pervasive in print and behind and in front of the cameras 35% newsrooms are women & 17% are minority women (American Society of Newspaper Editors) 20% of radio news directors are women (Radio TV News Directors Association) Contributing factors include education, economics, changing images of women, increased networking and demographics


Question 1a: What are some of the major gender trends in traditional media? : Question 1a: What are some of the major gender trends in traditional media? Diane The US is starting to see signs of progress TV: Number of female-centered dramas increased from 8 shows in the ’70s & 80s to 37 dramas in 2000 (Media Report to Women) News: Women were just 14% of guests on Sunday morning political talk shows in 2005, which is a 3% increase from 2001 Entertainment: Women accounted for 40% of all characters in 2005-2006 However, Hip Hop, Reality TV and fashion-dominated depictions of women still pervasively reinforce negative gender stereotypes Africa has been slow to follow (UNESCO sponsored Media for Equality: Portrayal of Women in Southern African Media, 2004) Radio stations have 9 women out of 50 people Of 180 programs broadcast each week, 12 are about women Women constitute only 19% of news sources in South Africa (South African Gender & Media Audience Study, 2002) Top Women & Gender Headlines also tend to focus on negative portrayals of women (see Appendix for details)


Question 1b: What are some of the major gender trends in emerging media? : Question 1b: What are some of the major gender trends in emerging media? Diane Emerging media is increasingly becoming an arena of progress, particularly throughout Africa Mobile subscribers have increased more than 1000% between 1998 and 2003, reaching 51.8M and amounting to over double the number of fixed-line phones 30 African countries have more mobile than fixed-line customers (BBC, 2003) Kenya is the fastest growing mobile market in the world However, landline telephone penetration & internet access remains far behind the rest of the world


Question 1b: What are some of the major gender trends in emerging media? : Question 1b: What are some of the major gender trends in emerging media? Source: Vanessa Gray (2006) The un-wired continent: Africa’s mobile success story. International Telecommunication Union Lori There are two critical areas impacted by emerging media The dissemination, distribution, consumption and use of information has dramatically increased due to emerging media The economic benefits of emerging media are vast However, there is a great Global Digital Divide Disparities in access to the Internet But the great African success story is Mobile In 2004, Africa added 15M new cell subscribers to their base Over the past 10 years, the number of landlines per 100 population has stagnated with 3.1 per 100 The average annual growth rate of mobile subscribers is 82.3% vs. 55% for the Americas Creative business models, such as pre-paid plans, are better suited for the African market


Question 2: In what ways have these developments been used to empower women? : Question 2: In what ways have these developments been used to empower women? Lori African men tend to have greater access to emerging media than African women Exceptions: Gambia, Sao Tome de Principe and Cape Verde Emerging media provide access to a variety of economic levers Marketing Reaching customers Information sharing that improves business offerings Through these channels, women have the opportunity to Increase their incomes Reduce dependency on men Increase family welfare Contribute to local development Increased communication & connectedness across disparate communities Some case studies include Uganda farmers sharing crop prices South African medical SMS reminders Tanzanian small business owners save on travel time & money Improved earnings in 62% of South African small businesses


Question 3: What can women do to further promote positive images throughout all media? : Question 3: What can women do to further promote positive images throughout all media? Lori Women must influence the production and consumption of media Women can encourage positive images of themselves through new media Guaranteed access to affordable ICT ICT infrastructure and services ICT training Develop ICT-based programs that meet women’s needs E.g., literacy programs, business planning courses, health information and services, access to market & trading information and e-Commerce initiatives Julia In light of demographic changes Develop skills Create partnerships with men Promote positive stories about women Mentor women Diane Regional women’s media umbrellas (e.g., African Women’s Media Center and the Federation of African Media Women) have been arranged to promote positive images of women Advocate fair gender policies Promote a conducive regulatory environment Must also produce more positive programming about and for women


Conclusion: Conclusion While traditional media has afforded varying levels of improved gender equality in its employment and representation of women, emerging media provides a beacon of hope Emerging media has provided greater access to information and services to women around the world This greater access has in turn led to increased economic opportunities, as well as increased access to critical information in such areas as health, education, and legislation Going forward, women can further promote such positive trends in media through a variety of means For those who work in media, promote positive images of women As consumers of media, use your time and money to support positive images As entrepreneurs, leverage emerging media resources to your advantage to explore new arenas of economic advancement Lastly, use these emerging platforms to educate & inform on women’s issues


Appendix: Appendix


Top Women and Gender Headlines (AllAfrica.com, May 2007) : Top Women and Gender Headlines (AllAfrica.com, May 2007)