The Anthology of a Curio

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you." – Maya Angelou

He said, She said

Gendered Misrepresentation in the Media and How to fix it

*Editor’s notes

This was my Solution Project for Diversity in Media, a class where we learned about media representation and bias in coverage of different identities. The Solution Project aimed to have us confront these issues on a larger scale and address how solutions are or are not being executed.

For the sake of clarity, in this article “media” refers to the visual representation and inclusion of women on television, specifically but not exclusively, news stations. Additionally the term “gender” refers to the biological sex of men and women, and doesn’t include specifications and data for those who identify as non-binary in a professional workspace.

Men and women aren’t treated equally. Despite advancements in legal and social equality, there are still huge gaps in the perceived equality between the sexes and how they should be treated, but at the end of the day, women and men are treated differently. One of the most noticeable places where this happens is in the media.

The way women are represented in the media is vastly different from men. For example, the way women’s sports have been discussed during news and sports shows has normalized a male-dominated athletic hierarchy. About half of all news and media stories reinforce gender stereotypes which manifest in the fact that a woman’s looks are prioritized. This consistent misrepresentation is extremely problematic. So how do you fix it? 

Well according to Harvard Business Review, the first step is to be aware of the issue itself and your influence upon it. People can overcome issues if they’re fully aware of them and what they mean. You may contribute to social problems- even unintentionally, but by recognizing the influence you have, you can address it. 

This means education.  

Communicating how social challenges can develop and why they matter is an essential step in understanding how the problems can be solved. Articles, videos, school curriculums, research papers, community exposés and pop culture content are all mediums that have proven effective in educating the public. Additionally, these mediums allow educators a huge range of options for reaching their audiences. They allow for flexibility and customization to reach intended targets. Developing engaging and digestible content is much easier when you get to adapt mediums to individual goals. Without educating the populations these dilemmas affect and those who surround them, progress is slowed because of ignorance.

For those who are aware of the issues, there has been a major push to create solutions. For the Council of Europe, one of their primary goals is to strengthen “self-regulatory mechanisms and codes of conduct to combat sexist imagery, language and practices.” These solutions aren’t just short-term ratifications, but intertwined systems of accountability that set up long-term systematic change. 

Another major movement is “50:50: The Equality Project” from BBC and its affiliates. This project, which originated from Ros Atkins and his news team, targets the misconceptions that social change is too time-consuming and could lower the quality of work produced. The basic goal of the project is to equalize the number of male and female contributors in published BBC content. All newsrooms have to do is count the number of men and women they cite in their stories. This forces creators to face gender disparities in their own media. The results of this project have been very successful, with creators expanding their tracking to include other factors such as race. 

According to Forbes contributor Paolo Gaudiano, while diversity and inclusion are often grouped together, the combination of the two often isolates inclusion, as it’s a harder factor to measure. Basically, it’s hard to notice who is missing from the table until after they’ve joined and you realize they were missing beforehand. This is especially true in business settings, but research has shown that once the missing are at the table, business flourishes. 

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency of Australia found that gender equality leads to improved national productivity and economic growth. Meanwhile, studies from Realindex Investments, and McKinsey and Company, and research published in Kyklos: International Review for Social Sciences found that diverse executive teams increase employee retention, company performance, and financial returns. Gender inclusion has become a major focus for many companies, but there is still a long way to go. Despite recent strides, the Global Gender Gap Report 2020 found that at the current rate of change, gender parity won’t be attained for the next 100 years. 

Gender representation and inclusion are interconnected topics. While one tends to deal with visual media and the other business, they both represent a large-scale issue where women are marginalized and have reduced contributions. UN Women reports that gender equity in news media didn’t change from 2000-2015. Without gender equity at a higher level, content can’t change as quickly, meaning media messages won’t change as fast. Currently, intentional or unintentional gender misrepresentations in media play “a significant role in shaping harmful attitudes of disrespect and violence towards women.” They also “affect women as citizens and violate their human rights.” Changing these messages is vital. The Guardian reports that changing the reported news to be more gender inclusive is directly associated with gender equity in media.

But the biggest way to ensure change? Commit to it. Having committed and active leaders lends itself to progress. It’s possible to change. Educating others about the issue creates change. And one step at a time, that change will add up. 

Check out these additional resources for more about gendered representation.