Let’s reshape the role of women in media!
So far, media haven‘t been particularly favorable to women. And the worst of all is that we are not even aware of it anymore… 
The famous Geena Davis Institute, which analyses each year the status of women in movies, releases impressive figures:
– MYTH: Boys and girls are equally represented in film and television.
FACT: Even among the top-grossing G-rated family films, girl characters are outnumbered by boys by 3 to 1. This ratio hasn’t changed since the end of World War II…
– MYTH: Girls on screen are compared favorably to their male counterparts.
FACT: From 2006 to 2009, in G-rated family films, not even one female character was depicted in the field of medical science, as a business leader, in law, or in politics. In these films, 80.5% of all working characters are male and 19.5% are female, which is a contrast to real world statistics, where women constitute 50% of the workforce.
– MYTH: Gender imbalance issues have gotten better over time.
FACT: Statistically, there has been little progress for girls in media within six decades. Only 10.7% of movies feature a balanced cast and a third of female speaking characters are shown in sexually revealing attired or partially naked.
– MYTH: Things are looking great for females behind the camera.
FACT: Women represent only 7% of directors, 13% of writers, and 20% of producers, which explains why it’s a struggle to champion female stories and voices.
In France, the little pamphlet “À la télé, les hommes parlent, les femmes écoutent” depicts a very similar situation:
– Only 20% of interviewed experts are women.
– Only 7% of all the sport seen on TV is feminine.
– The speaking time of women on TV is stuck at 15%.
– And yet, 60% of spectators think that current TV programs give the same position to men and women…
If you find yourself still doubting, I engage you, next time you watch a movie, to simply try the Bechdel Test. It’s very easy:
You need to hear 2 women characters, both with a name, talking about something else than a man, at least once throughout the film. As I said, simple.
Yet, 50% of last 2014 Oscar nominees didn’t pass that test…
As Geena Davis says: « The more a girl spends time watching TV, the less it feels like she has a choice in life. And the more a boy watches television, the more he tends to become sexist.”
Because media plays a critical role – perhaps the most critical role – in shaping perceptions and disseminating information, our children integrate very early, and unconsciously, that women do not actually occupy half of the world.
Phumzile Mlandbo-Ngcuka, the new director of UN Women, also advocates for media as a leverage for change, to make progress for women.
The Giving Women Conference I attended in Geneva on September 30th gave visibility to different initiatives aiming at shifting this balance:
– Amie Williams launched Global Girl Media, training young girls all over the world to become citizen journalists.
– The internationally acclaimed filmmaker Deeyah shared with us her groundbreaking documentary Sanah, on the inside of an honor killing, which happened lately in the UK.
– Valerie Tandeau woke our minds up regarding everyday sexism and engaged us to register in Voxfemina, the first French database of women experts willing to change the perception of women in the media.
– And finally Monique Villa, founder of the renowned Thomson Reuters Foundation and Trust conference, which will take place in November in London, explained how media actually leads to action and concrete changes in laws of various countries.
Many other initiatives exist:
– The program Name it Change it wishes to stop sexist and misogynistic coverage of women candidates by all members of the press in the US.
– Still in the US, SheSource is an online brain trust of female experts on diverse topics designed to serve journalists, producers and bookers who need female guests and sources.
– In the UK, Her SAY sources more authoritative female voices in our media.
Media shapes the way we see the world. And we need to change the current narrative!
With women representing over 50% of the population, and as media is moving more and more towards spreading polarizing, subjective, and extreme programming, cloaked as “news”, the need to increase the presence of women’s voices and change the conversation becomes even clearer.
So BE AWARE of it! Check what programs you show to your children! Choose different movies! Apply to be a woman expert!
Here are additional links for you if you wish to pursue your research on that subject:
– GMMP: Global Media Monitoring Project
– European institute for Gender equity
– Center for the study of women in Television and Film
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