International Women’s Day 2018: more efforts needed to promote the advancement of women in media
MEPs have adopted a resolution calling for measures, including quotas, to ensure women are better represented in the media sector.
While women account for almost 70% of journalism and communication graduates in the EU, they only make up 40% of the workforce in media and are even less represented in management positions. Additionally, only 37% of news stories are reported by women, and less than one in five experts or commentators in the media are women.
“It is important that women are present, that they are heard and that we see women as experts because they provide another point of view," said Czech EPP Michaela Šojdrová member , who wrote a report on gender equality in the EU’s media sector .
The report, adopted by MEPs on 17 April 2018, stresses that the media is one of the cornerstones of democratic societies and that it has the capacity to influence and, ultimately, shape public opinion.
It calls on national and EU bodies to fully implement existing legislation addressing gender equality and encourages regulatory bodies to monitor the presence and advancement of women in the media.
We must make sure that women are not discriminated against, be it for jobs, salary, or in the race to enter top management
The resolution also urges media organisations to support and develop incentive measures, including quotas, for the equal representation of women and men in decision-making posts and to update their internal policies, including codes of conduct and anti-harassment measures.
International Women’s Day in the Parliament
On the occasion of International Women's Day on 8 March, Šojdrová discussed the challenges of the representation of women in media in a live interview on Parliament’s Facebook page. You can watch the full interview here.
Further information
- (open in a new tab) Resolution on gender equality in the media sector in the EU (23 February 2018)
- (open in a new tab) Parliament calls for measures to promote gender equality in the media sector (20 February 2018)
- (open in a new tab) European Parliament study on gender equality in the media sector (January 2018)
- Opens in a new window Parliamentary Research Service: gender equality in the EU’s digital and media sectors (March 2018)