GMMP2020 and why gender & media research is important - a podcast with me

The Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) is a worldwide media monitoring, research and advocacy project that takes ever five years produce a snapshot of the gender equality status in the news media around the world. Helsinki university is promoting the project by creating a website where they collect the Finnish work and provide more in-depth info. They have also produced interviews with four GMMP experts, all made by Yann Ilunga.  I am honoured to be one of the interviewees, named as "one of the key Nordic scholars of gender and the media". The other three interviews are with Philip Lee, Sarah Macharia, Claudia Padovani

You can find the interviews here:

Associate Professor Claudia Padovani, University of Padova – a seminar scholar in gender studies, with a specialization in gender and policy and involvement in many related global activities, such as the UNESCO Unitwin University Network on Gender Media and ICTs and the AGEMI project;
* General Secretary Dr. Philip Lee, WACC, on the history of GMMP; and
* Dr. Sarah Macharia – the Global Coordinator of the GMMP research project on the current developments. 

Of course i promoted the books Comparing gender and media across the globe, and Making Change. Nordic Examples of Working Towards Gender Equality in the Media (in advertising, film, gaming and journalism) both free to download though Nordicom.

The book and dataset is out!

 I am proud and happy to share the good news that the book and dataset from our project Comparing Gender and Media Across the Globe is out! And it is all open access.

For the last couple of years we have been working on compiling, curating  and analysing comparative data on gender & news media so that it will become more accessible and used. IWMF, GMMP, and EIGE have generously shared their data and the principal investigators of these gender & news media studies have shared their knowledge and contributed with chapters to the book Comparing Gender and Media Across the Globe. A Cross-National Study of the Qualities, Causes, and Consequences of Gender Equality In and Through the News Media.

This brilliant initiative was taken by Monika Djerf-Pierre, professor at JMG who has been leading this project since 2016. My colleague Mathias Färdigh has worked with the GEM dataset and I have been the project manager. Our team of international scholars are: Carolyn M. Byerly, Sarah Macharia, Claudia Padovani & Karen Ross. 

Nordicom is the great publisher of the book, it can be ordered or downloaded here.

Djerf-Pierre, Monika & Maria Edström. Eds.(2020). Comparing Gender and Media Across the Globe. A Cross-National Study of the Qualities, Causes, and Consequences of Gender Equality In and Through the News Media. Göteborg: Nordicom

The GEM dataset and codebook can be found here.

The book also includes the GEM-Index, an easy to use index on (the lack of) gender equality in the news media.

We are grateful for this review from Professor Ulla Carlsson, UNESCO Chair on Freedom of Expression, Media Development & Global Policy at the University of Gothenburg. 

"A trailblazing collection of first-rate studies by leading researchers in all parts of  the world. The book, splendidly edited, fulfils the much-needed comparative analysis of gender equality in and through news media in different regions. It is unique, full of useful empirical evidence, new insights, and reflections. This is without doubt required reading for all who equality in and through news media in different regions. It is unique, full of useful empirical world. The book, splendidly edited, fulfils the much-needed comparative analysis of gender negotiate with this issue – not least from an Agenda 2030 perspective”.

In a time of cancellations

As you might have understood, the seminar in conjunction with CSW64 in March

was cancelled since the whole event was cancelled.
It is quite difficult to grasp all the effects of Covid-19, but clearly the Beijing+25 evaluations and the possibilities to advance the agenda is put on hold.
However, we keep on finalizing  the international research project Comparing gender and media equality across the globe and hope to soon present the book, the open data-set and a simple to use index for gender equality in the news media, GEM-I. Keep you posted! 
Here is the programme for the cancelled event:Programme GEM-seminar March 12 2020, NGO-CSW64
 

Gender and media equality - save the date: March 12 at NGO CSW64

I am happy to announce that the University of Gothenburg will have a parallel event at the NGO Forum Parallel event at the United Nations 64th Commission on the Status of Women on March 12.

It concerns Area J of the UN Beijing Platform for Action: Women and the Media. Since 1995 there has been slow progress of women making the news, from 17 percent to 24 percent, according to the Global Media Monitoring Project.

What are the causes and consequences of the lack of women in the news? Gender equality and freedom of expression are fundamental values crucial for achieving a sustainable world. This parallel event focus on the (lack of) achievements for women in the media and how to move forward. We will present results from the international research project Comparing gender and media equality across the globe and open up for discussions with  the media industry, policy makers and civil society.

Five or the researchers, including PI Monika Djerf Pierre will be there, and many more. A full program will be uploaded here soon.

Comparing gender and media equality across the globe

Time: March 12, 2020, 10:30 AM- 12.00 AM

Venue: 4 W 43rd Street : Blue Room, New York City 

   Sponsor: University of Gothenburg, Department of Journalism, Media and Communication(JMG)

   Co-sponsors: GAMAG, Fojo Media Institute, Swedish Women´s Lobby & Nordicom

The EU Mutual Learning Programme in Gender Equality - Women and the Media

For the first time Women and the Media was in focus on a seminar organized by the EU Mutual  Learning Programme  in Gender Equality. The meeting was held  in Paris on 12-13 November 2018. It examined good practices from France on women and the media and revealed similarities and differences within in the EU member states on how to deal with the lack of women in the media. The event highlighted the growing recognition of the crucial importance of addressing sexism in the media for achieving gender equality.
17 countries contributed with comment papers. I wrote the Swedish one, focusing on the lack of data and the importance to connect the issues of women and the media to the sustainable development goals. Many of the country experts were also involved in Global Media Monitoring Project, it was a great thing to meet so many fellow colleagues IRL. You can read the discussion paper from France and all the comment papers here.
I was also interviewed by Journalisten, the magazine of the Swedish Union of Journalists regarding the Swedish report.

Some of the GMMP koordinators present at seminar in Paris 2018

French problems that needs to be addressed.

Media is a male business

Last week Nordicom published a fact sheet that was quite revealing. The 100 largest media corporations are so lagging behind when it comes to gender equality on the top levels. Thirty corporations have no women whatsoever in their top management.

We wanted to publish these statistics in good time before CSW62, the UN Commisson on the Status of Women March 12-23.
Only 15 percent of all UN member states are collecting sex-disaggregated data on the media, so how will we ever know if there is progress or not?

This year the CSW Priority theme is challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls. The the review theme is participation in and access of women to the media, and information and communications technologies and their impact on and use as an instrument for the advancement and empowerment of women.
I will participate as a member of the official Swedish delegation from March 11-16, maybe I will meet some of you there?