How Does Gender Inequality in the UK Media Compare With Other European Countries?
By Megan O’Neill
It’s no secret that gender inequality is still a huge problem in society today. The UK is trying to overcome this with the introduction of the Equality Act 2010 but there is still a long way to go before we reach full equality in the workplace.
Within journalism, a 2015 global survey by the International Women’s Media Foundation found that women represent only one third of the full-time journalists across the 522 companies surveyed.
Undoubtedly, gender inequality is an issue worldwide, so the European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality commissioned a study to explore gender inequality in the media workforce across four European countries: Austria, Malta, Sweden, and the UK. The study highlights the percentage of women in decision-making roles in the media industry from 2013 and 2017 from the four countries. The study also included interviews with 37 individuals who worked at the European and Member State levels to promote gender equality, media regulators and women working in the media industries of the four countries.
The statistics suggest that in 2013 Malta had the most inequality with only 16% of females in decision-making roles, with the UK coming second to last with 27% and Sweden achieving the highest level of equality with 46%. Comparing this to the EU as a whole, the EU recorded 30% in 2013 - 3% higher than the UK.
In terms of progress from 2013 to 2017, Sweden appears to have made the most improvement with over 58% of CEOs and Executives being female. The UK and Austria are also slowly increasing; however, Malta still shows a huge lack of gender equality in the media workforce. In 2017, none of Malta’s CEOs and Executives in media companies were women. Overall, the UK is achieving above EU average for female Presidents and Members of the Board but below average for female CEOs and Executives.
Respondents to the study noted that equalities came in many forms including in pay, hiring, allocation of work, and promotion. The reasons for gender inequality in the workplace are vague and unclear as it isn’t something that employers are always open about. Respondents said men continue to dominate decision-making roles across media industries, and that one of the main reasons women faced inequality was regarding childcare, sexual harassment and ‘normalisation’ of bullying. Particularly in Sweden, but also in the UK and Austria, respondents described the progress toward greater equality as “insufficient”.
So, what is being done about it? Tackling gender inequality has been a long running process throughout history so it won’t be solved overnight. That being said, there are steps that are being taken to improve the workplace atmosphere for females and to increase their chances of being hired and promoted. One of the UK respondents said that having a record system to build up evidence of discrimination, harassment and bullying would prove beneficial for women in cases of inappropriate behaviour - in essence, utilising greater transparency (sunlight, as they say, is the best of disinfectants).
Recurring themes arose after conversations with the respondents regarding their views on change. Many stated that a more equal workforce would not only produce more positive messages and a happier workforce, but it would also help decrease negative stereotypes in the wider society. One respondent said that “it will be hard to achieve gender equality in the media sector until we change wider societal norms about the value of women.” Similarly, the Maltese respondents talked about the need for a “cultural shift through education.”
Findings suggest that media industry regulators should be informed as to how their counterparts across Europe respond to infringements of rules as a way to progress and move forward with equality.
Further research shows that from a young age, children are influenced by the gendered stereotypes that are presented in the media highlighting that a more diverse workforce will produce a more diverse output so that stereotypes can be challenged.
Overall, it’s clear that gender inequality is a global issue and there is a long way to go before total equality is achieved for all members of society. After reviewing the study commissioned by the European Parliament it’s evident that the UK is not alone in its struggles towards gender inequality.
How women are represented in the media plays a crucial role in how women are portrayed in society so a gender-equal media workforce will be essential for breaking these barriers. Time will tell if women get the workplace equality that has been fought for over decades.