An Unfinished Story: Gender Patterns in Media Employment
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| An Unfinished Story: I10 I10 Gender Patterns In Media Employment e e Communication Communication Mass Mass on on Papers Papers and and Reports Reports UNESCO Publishing Reports and papers on mass communication Request for permission to reproduce the Reports in full or in part should be addressed to the UNESCO Publishing Office. The following reports and papers have been issued and are obtainable from National Distributors of UNESCO Publications or from the Sector for Communication, Information and Informatics, UNESCO, 7 place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP. These titles have been published in English and French. Titles marked with an asterisk are also published in Spanish, those marked ‘a’ in Arabic, ‘c’ in Chinese and ‘r’ in Russian. Number Number 50 Television and the social education of women, 1967 *81 External radio broadcasting and international 51 An African experiment in radio forums for rural understanding, 1977 development. Ghana, 1964/1965, 1968 *83 National communication policy councils, 1979 52 Book development in Asia. A report on the production *84 Mass media: the image, role and social condition of and distribution of books in the region, 1967 women, 1979 53 Communication satellites for education, science and *85 New values and principles of cross-cultural culture, 1967 communication, 1979 54 8mm film for adult audiences, 1968 86 Mass media. Codes of ethics and councils, 1980 55 Television for higher technical education of the 87 Communication in the community, 1980 employed. A first report on a pilot project in Poland, *88 Rural journalism in Africa, 1981 1969 *89 The SACI/EXTERN project in Brazil: an analytical 56 Book development in Africa. Problems and case study, 1981 perspectives, 1969 *90 Community communications — the role of community 37 Script writing for short films, 1969 media in development, 1981 58 Removing taxes on knowledge, 1969 91 The S.LT-.E. experience, 1981 59 Mass media in society. The need of research, 1970 92 Transnational communication and cultural industries, 60 Broadcasting from space, 1970 1982 61 Principles of cultural co-operation, 1970 *93 Foreign news in the media: international reporting in 62 Radio and television in literacy, 1971 29 countries 63 The mass media in a violent world, 1971 a,r*94 The right to communicate: a status report, 1982 64 The role of film in development, 1971 a*95 Development of communication in the Arab States: 65 ‘The practice of mass communication: some lessons needs and priorities, 1985 from research, 1972 *97 Mass communications and the advertising industry 66 A guide to satellite communication, 1972 *98 The new international economic order: links between 67 Television for higher technical education of workers. economics and communications Final report ona pilot project in Poland, 1973 99 International flow of information: a global report and 68 Cinematographic institutions, 1973 analysis 69 Mass media in an African context, 1973 100 International flow of television programmes, 1985 *70 Television traffic — a one-way street?, 1974 *101 Communication, technology and development, 1988 71 Anatomy of an international year, Book Year, 1972-1974 *102 Violence and terror in the mass media, 1988 72 Promoting the reading habit, 1975 *103. The vigilant press: a collection of case-studies, 1989 73 ‘Training for mass communication, 1975 *104 Import/export: international flow of television fiction, *74 National communication systems. Some policy issues 1990 and options, 1975 a*105 New communication technologies: research trends, 75 Technology and access communications media, 1975 199} *76 ‘Towards realistic communication policies, 1976 1*106 New communication technologies: a challenge for press *77 Cross-cultural broadcasting, 1976 freedom, 1991 *78 Planning for satellite broadcasting 1*107 Alternative media: linking global and local, 1993 *79 ‘The economics of book publishing in developing cr *108 Impact of communication technologies on women, countries, 1977 1994 80 Media studies in education, 1977 ey *109 TV transnationalization: Europe and Asia, 1994 INC 110 An Unfinished Story: Gender Patterns in Media Employment By Margaret Gallagher in collaboration with My von Euler UNESCO Publishing ISBN 92-3-103208-9 Published in 1995 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization 7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France Printed in the UNESCO workshops © UNESCO 1995 Printed in France Preface Today, more women are working in the mass media than (Quito), the Caribbean (Santiago de Cuba), West Africa and ever before. More women are also appearing as news pre- the Maghreb (Tunis), and Europe and North America senters on television, often providing different perspectives (Tirmnovo). to the understanding of news events. Even in learning insti- The results of these regional fora were then brought to tutions in many countries, more women are enrolled in aca- the international seminar in Toronto in February-March demic and professional courses for journalism and commu- 1995, organized on the theme Women and the Media: access to nication, accounting in the majority of countries surveyed in expression and decision-making. The Toronto participants pre- this study for at least 50% of student enrollment; in some pared a platform of action and set an agenda of immediate cases, more. It may be asked, then, whether the perception measures to be taken up by governments and professional of women as portrayed in the media might be changing, media organizations; these include the promotion of equal whether film and television might be reflecting the image opportunity programmes to ensure equal access for women, of woman more truthfully, and whether this is because the preparation of guidelines on non-sexist reporting, the women themselves are gradually taking up more dynamic monitoring and denunciation of attacks on media profes- positions in media industries and thereby directly affecting sionals or users who expose or speak out against extremists. production decisions on how women are to. be portrayed The Toronto participants also positively influenced the and how women can portray events. Or is the access of long process of preparing the Platform of Action to be pre- women to decision-making still to be satisfactorily resolved? sented at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on This study shows that, in many countries, we are still far Women to be held in Beijing in September 1995. from answering these questions positively. The significance of these fora and of the Beijing con- But these same questions also prompted UNESCO to ference is that the issue of women has become an important reinforce its 1994-1995 programme with special workshops topic on the international agenda. In support of this interna- for women editors and journalists in Africa and support for tional dialogue, An Unfinished Story: gender patterns in media organizing community radio run by women in Zimbabwe. employment is perhaps one of the first reports to treat the UNESCO also organized seven regional workshops on issue of gender in media employment on a global scale and women and the media in order to bring out all aspects of with comparative gender-differentiated statistics across this issue, particularly from regional vantage points. These regions. For this reason it is important as a trail-blazing meetings were held in 1994 and 1995 in Africa (Harare), effort to contribute to a broader and more profound under- Asia (Kuala Lumpur), the Pacific (Apia), Latin America standing of the challenges facing women in modern society. —e = Preface The very title of this work is characteristic of the nature of The narration of this story may never finish, but with research in this field, because even as more reliable and more reliable research data, it can now be told with increas- more complete statistical information becomes available, ing accuracy. the very problem of women in the media and the portrayal The ideas and opinions expressed in this publication of women through the media is advancing to a new stage are those of the author and do not necessarly represent the and confronting new challenges. views of UNESCO. Contents List of Figures and Tables vz Acknowledgements ix 1, Women in the Media: Visible But Vulnerable / . Women’s Training for Media Employment 5 bo ‘The Discrepancy Between Training and Employment Opportunities 5 The Role of Gender in Journalism and Communication Training 7 3. Women’s Employment in the Media: Why It Matters 9 Statistics on Women’s Employment in the Media /0 4. Gender Patterns in Media Employment // The Overall Picture // Differences in Employment Status /5 5. The Gender Division of Labour in the Media 7/7 Women’s Work, Men’s Work 22 6. Gender Employment Patterns in Radio and Television 25 Programme Production Jobs 25 Crafts and Technical Work 30 7. Gender Employment Patterns in the Press and News Agencies 39 Technical and Creative Jobs 39 Journalists and Editorial Executives 39 . The Management of Media Organisations 47 oe) Women in the Media Hierarchy 47 Women in Media Decision-Making Bodies 52 . Obstacles to Women in Media Employment 53 sO Overcoming the Obstacles 56 Action and Change 59 ‘Table 1: Women’s Employment in the Media 1990-95: Specially Conducted Studies 6/ Table 2: Other Recent Dataon Women’s Employment in Media /03 Women and Media — Associations and Networks /09 References and Bibliography //7 vi List of Figures and Tables Figure 1. Female Students in Journalism and Mass Communication 6 Figure 2. Women’s and Men’s Share of Media Employment /2 Figure 3. Women’s Share of Employment in Selected Media Organisations and in Total Labour Force /3 Figure 4. Employment Status of Women in Broadcasting /4 Figure 5. Women’s Share of Jobs in News Agencies /7 Figure 6. Women’s Share of Jobs in Broadcasting and Press 78-19 Figure 7. Distribution of Media Staff Over Main Occupational Categories 20 Figure 8. Women’s and Men’s Share of Jobs in Main Occupational Categories, Broadcasting 2/ Figure 9.