Gender Equality in the Media: Learning Brief

"Gender disparity remains a significant issue in the media sector - only 25% of individuals featured in newspapers, TV and radio coverage are women."



This learning brief explores strategies used by the Protecting Independent Media for Effective Development (PRIMED) to improve gender equality in three media outlets in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Sierra Leone. In particular, it looks at what strategies work to improve gender representation in the workplace, strategies to improve gender representation in media content, and strategies to improve gender representation among media audiences.



The three-year PRIMED programme (launched in late 2020) was designed to support public interest media in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Sierra Leone - addressing critical challenges, building resilience, and sharing research and insight about what works. The programme was implemented by a consortium of media support organisations with expertise in different aspects of media and development. These were BBC Media Action (consortium lead), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), International Media Support (IMS), and Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF), with further contributions from Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) and The Communication Initiative (CI). As part of documenting and sharing lessons learned about effective media support in different contexts, PRIMED attempted to answer a number of questions that are explored in this series of learning briefs. (See Related Summaries below for other PRIMED learning briefs, as well as links to more information about the PRIMED programme.)



PRIMED's change hypothesis posited that fostering gender equality in the media (both in the workplace and in media content) can benefit women in society by enhancing women's access to information. In turn, this access makes women more likely to engage with the media, reinforcing the case for gender equality. In this context, FPU, the lead consortium member working on gender and the media, was asked to answer the question, "What business and management models/organisational and team structures, competencies and processes have the potential to improve gender equality in the workplace, gender-sensitive programming and engagement with diverse audiences?"



The three PRIMED media partners that actively engaged in mainstreaming gender issues across different areas, and in very different contexts and institutional realities were:

• Gramer Kagoj, a regional newspaper in Bangladesh;
• African Renaissance Television Services (ARTS TV), an independent TV station in Ethiopia; and
• Classic Radio, a small independent broadcaster in Sierra Leone.

The brief offers case studies outlining the specific initiatives undertaken with each media partner to: 1) address workplace gender equality, 2) produce more gender-sensitive and gender-balanced content, and 3) increase their reach and appeal to women. An analysis of the outlets' progress towards their gender goals, and their overall gender equality, seems to confirm that a holistic approach (working simultaneously to improve gender representation in all three areas, and using a combination of strategies in each one) significantly improves the chances of progress, with different interventions and approaches complementing and reinforcing each other. While some strategies appeared to be more effective than others, the progress achieved by PRIMED partners cannot be easily ascribed to any single one but, rather, to this combined approach. Key insights also reaffirm the importance of clearly defining gender goals and implementing practical, achievable initiatives to obtain the desired changes. However, the main differential factor seems to be the level of commitment from leadership.



More specifically, the most effective strategy to improve gender representation in the workplace (at least in the contexts of the media outlets analysed) seems to be creating dedicated schemes to diversify an organisation's talent pool, such as fellowships, internships, or training programmes exclusively for women. These schemes work better when accompanied by strategies such as appointing (and empowering) gender champions and ensuring gender-sensitive human resources management.



To improve gender representation in media content, the most effective strategy appears to be regular self-monitoring of content produced, achieved by implementing the BBC's 50:50 Project (a voluntary system of self-monitoring designed to increase representation of women in media content) and using quantitative data on gender balance to assess and drive change.



Finally, to improve gender representation among media audiences, the starting point, according to the brief, should be an improving understanding of the needs and interests of existing and potential women audiences and translating this into relevant, engaging, representative, and trusted content. The analysis summarises the different strategies deployed by the PRIMED partners to achieve this goal, but, as noted in the brief, for various reasons, developing and piloting cost-effective audience research approaches for small and/or resource-deprived media was one of the unfulfilled objectives of this programme.



Based on the experiences of the PRIMED programme and collaboration with international partners and media outlets in the three countries, the following steps are recommended to improve gender equity in the media in resource-constrained settings:

• Secure buy-in from media outlets' senior management to enhance gender equality across areas including the workplace, content creation, and audience engagement.
• Ensure a shared understanding of gender goals and potential pathways for change (and its implications) through collaborative processes with media outlets.
• Consider facilitating financial resources to cover the costs associated with key interventions and to increase the impact of training and technical support. Effective approaches that media organisations should attempt and/or be encouraged to try could include:
  • Appoint gender champions in the organisation to advocate for gender equity and equality across key areas.
  • Address human resource management aspects to become a more attractive employer for all, with a focus on women.
  • Establish opportunities to attract women and members of other marginalised groups to the organisation.
  • Enhance the visibility of women in the media outlet, across various roles and responsibilities.
  • Conduct continuous gender-sensitivity analysis of the content produced and monitoring progress consistently.
  • Invest in methodologies to gain insights into audience preferences, ensuring the use of gender-sensitive language and the production of targeted content for women.
• Make sure goals and targets are measurable, and that monitoring progress does not impose undue demands on media partners.
• In case of budget cuts, offer space for experiments and adapt the programme's success indicators accordingly.