Are there enough women in the media? Lords to investigate
Are women properly represented in news and current affairs broadcasting? What legal and regulatory obligations affect broadcasters in relation to gender balance in this genre? What, if anything, are broadcasters doing voluntarily to try to achieve gender equality? Does any other country do it better?
These are some of the questions at the heart of the House of Lords Communications Committee's new inquiry, which will investigate the issue of the representation of women in television and radio news and current affairs in terms of employment, casting and participation.
Committee Chairman, Lord Best, said:
“There are a number of studies that are painting a picture of concern about how women are represented in news and current affairs broadcasting. It has been said, for example, that, in a typical month, 72% of Question Time contributors are men, as are 84% of reporters and guests on Radio 4's Today programme[1].
“And the case has been made to us that the statistics regarding the number of women working in public-facing, behind-the-scenes and editorial roles in the same areas are similarly skewed. There are also particular issues with the employment of women and age: while TV presenters under 50 years of age broadly mirror the population's gender balance, women are significantly under-represented amongst TV presenters over the age of 50[2].
“However, we appreciate that this issue is not likely to be as straightforward as might appear at first glance. There are likely to be far more nuanced perspectives on the urgency and practicalities of the problem, and we would therefore encourage people or organisations with relevant experience or expertise to submit evidence to the inquiry.”
Issues the Committee will be considering as part of its inquiry include:
- What does the data and academic research on women involved in news and current affairs broadcasting reveal?
- What other research helps to paint a picture of gender balance across news and current affairs broadcasting?
- How successful are broadcasters' voluntary initiatives and are they sufficient?
- When participants in news and current affairs broadcasting are chosen on “merit”, what constitutes “merit” and does this appropriately reflect the levels of female expertise in society?
- Is the position in the UK better or worse than in other countries?
The deadline for submitting written evidence is Wednesday 1 October 2014.
[1] The Fawcett Society, March 2013
[2] Interim Report by Labour Party's Commission on Older Women, September 2013
