The facts are clear, and studies show that women and minorities are underrepresented in the media. Beyond the statistics that help raise awareness of the problem, potential solutions do exist. We explore them with Mathilde Saliou, a journalist at Flint and a member of Prenons la Une, and Cécile Méadel, a sociologist and the lead researcher for the Global Media Monitoring Project’s study in France.
It took a public health crisis for those who were unaware of the problem to fully grasp its magnitude. The issue at hand is the underrepresentation of women and minorities in the reports and articles of certain media outlets. The latest study by the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) revealed that women account for about 30% of the topics covered in news reports. “The study is conducted every five years, and the most recent one was in 2020. We conduct this global study on a single, specific day, so it’s not necessarily representative, but it gives an idea, and I even think it underestimates the role of women,” says Cécile Méadel.
An imbalance in articles and reports
This insight proved to be extremely useful, as the findings speak for themselves in a study published by the CSA: at the start of the health crisis, women accounted for 41% of television and radio appearances, but more importantly, they were overrepresented in scenes depicting daily life—such as when discussing how they were experiencing the health crisis, the lockdown, or homeschooling. The same study revealed that “imbalances persist in other categories, particularly among experts,” particularly regarding economic and political issues, adds Cécile Méadel.
In France, people perceived as non-white account for 16% of those interviewed on television news programs. Updating one’s contact list to broaden the range of representation can sometimes take time. “Since you’re under time pressure, anything that slows down a newsroom comes at a cost,” the sociologist continues. It’s not easy, then, for the media to change their habits overnight.
A similar imbalance exists in newsrooms as well
According to figures from the Press Professions Observatory, 27% of editors-in-chief in newsrooms were women in 2000, compared with 39% in 2019, and 18% of publishing or editorial directors were women in 2000, compared to 30% in 2019. Positions of responsibility are moving toward gender parity, but progress remains slow.
In response to this, some newsrooms are taking action. The BBC, for example, launched its 50:50 equality project in 2017. Following the model of the New York Times under Jessica Bennett, Mediapart has appointed Lénaïg Bredoux as editorial director for gender issues, whom we interviewed in this article. “Alongside major news organizations, emerging media outlets have the opportunity to experiment with things that large news organizations couldn’t do,” insists Cécile Méadel.
For better presentation in articles
« Je ne vous apprends rien quand je dis que le but d’un média est d’être représentatif de la société, en France nous comptons 52 % de femmes, ce serait bien que ce chiffre soit le même dans les articles », annonce Mathilde Saliou et de poursuivre, compter le nombre de femmes interrogées en tant qu’expertes ou témoins est une bonne d’entrée. C’est en tout cas un premier bon indicateur pour savoir où l’on en est. Heidi.news est allé encore plus loin dans la démarche en publiant un gender tracker ou Le Temps qui publie les chiffres de la place des femmes dans ses pages Opinions et débats. La Suisse a un temps d’avance…
We’re often tempted to interview the same people, because we know they’re good sources and are well-versed in dealing with the media, that updating your contact list can be time-consuming, and that as journalists, we spend our days racing against the clock. But then, where can we easily find female experts to expand our network? Mathilde Saliou has created a resource that lists websites. Among them, the website Les Expertes has been developed in partnership with French newsrooms and lists female researchers in a wide range of fields—from sociology to tech and economics— just like Voxfemina.
Here are some resources on tech, organized by topic: 100 Women in video games: Women in Games; scientists: 500 Women Scientists; in the field of health: Women in Global Health; female researchers across Europe: Brussels Binder. In the United States, platforms such as SheSource and Informed Opinions have also been created. Similarly, in South Africa, there is Quote This Woman. For a broader search across all topics and by region: Reflect Reality.
Prenons la Une has also produced an anti-racism charter for journalists. Among the recommendations: do not consider a person’sa person’s origin as their sole defining characteristic, or to assume that having a particular background implies in-depth knowledge of a given environment. If you’re not comfortable covering LGBT topics, you can refer to the guide developed by the Association of LGBT Journalists (AJL).
Articles contain words, but also images. And you know how important images are in journalism and on social media. There are several tools available to help you diversify your illustrations: Black Illustrations, Gumroad, Blush.design. On the statistics front, Mathilde Saliou shares the Women Photograph account, which tracked the number of photos taken by women in major American news outlets in 2017, and it’s not great…
"We need to work with specialized journalists."
As Lénaïg Bredoux of Mediapart and Mathilde Saliou of Prenons la une advise, “it’s important to work with journalists who specialize in gender issues or equality.”
Media coverage of these issues is a key factor. Mathilde Saliou places particular emphasis on articles concerning violence against women, for which Prenons la Une has established several recommendations for journalists. What was once a news item has become a societal issue. The guide mentions the importance of using appropriate terminology and protecting the victim’s identity. “The evidence is clear when a blog like *Les mots tuent* highlights the headlines of certain newspapers that discuss domestic violence or femicide.”
In newsrooms, the issue of cyberbullying is also a top priority for Prenons la une. Journalists don’t always know how to respond, so a guide has been developed to help them. Interns may be on the front lines when it comes to harassment; here is another guide intended for them as well as for newsrooms.
It’s not just a matter of checking boxes and meeting quotas. Ultimately, striving for greater representativeness is a virtuous cycle: the more diversity there is in newsrooms, the better society—in all its complexity—and thus reality will be represented. This is the task that falls to the media. For Cécile Méadel, it is not a matter of “penalizing media outlets that have not yet caught up, but rather of implementing an incentive-based policy. “We need an observatory that operates on an ongoing basis—for example, at the INA—and we need to strengthen training on this topic in journalism schools.”
Learn More
Want to know if your news outlet reflects your community? Conduct a source audit. Here's how. — Nieman Lab
United States: Newsrooms Are Less Diverse Than the U.S. Workforce as a Whole — Pew Research Center
Community Q&A: As a white manager, how can I build trust and be a good ally to my colleagues of color? — Source
Toward a More Inclusive Writing Style That Doesn't Exclude Our Readers — Le Temps
