Gender parity in news media

Emerging perspectives on women’s empowerment, representation and leadership have, in the last decade, changed global trends of how women are now being given space in leadership roles across a range of sectors. Although important executive spaces are improving in demographics, data on gender parity derived from a 2023 research conducted in the US shows it is still taking immeasurably long for women to be mainstreamed into central roles. This means issues like equal pay, top-tier positions and career longevity still remain some of the major issues that the appointment of a woman counterpart is yet to overcome.

News media offers the highest potential for social development. While women are integral to social development, it clearly indicates that women’s contribution to news media essentially determines the fulfilment of social responsibility set up by media as the fourth pillar of a state. The question, however, remains as to how far women’s potential is enabled in newsrooms. Editorial and news coverage see a dearth of women’s representation. The situation may be considered worse in Pakistan than other countries in the region. A local survey reveals that the average contribution of women journalists in the Pakistani news industry is as low as 11%.

Decision-making and public discourse in the country, as a result, suffer severely, directly affecting how gender-sensitive content is generated and what gender-sensitive policies are made and practised. Studies show that where women are in leadership roles in news dissemination, inclusivity and representation tend to be more prominent. With the right chances, women journalists contribute towards policy legislation and implementation with more assertion, as they tend to better handle social stereotypes and human rights in closing the gender gap.

Now is the time to strengthen collective voices to demand fairness and consistency in creating, maintaining and promoting equal development opportunities for women in the news industry. This should be rooted in a centralised structure of policy and practice that mandate not just women’s vertical development but also their rights, freedom and protection in the industry.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 9^th, 2024.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.