Gender equality is a prerequisite for human rights, democracy and social justice. It benefits society as a whole.  Media and editorial freedom, media pluralism and gender equality can advance one another. The European Convention on Human Rights bans all types of discrimination, including on grounds of gender.

Not only women, but also men can suffer from the standards imposed by gender stereotypes and sexist advertising in the media. For these reasons, there is a need to create equal access to media work and management posts for both sexes and the presentation of men and women in the media must not undermine gender equality.

To promote gender equality in the media, the media and internet division engages in standard-setting activities based notably on the European Convention on Human Rights and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. The aim is for member states to update their legal framework, national indicators and judicial practices as well as to increase reflection, discussions and awareness-raising among actors within the private sector, the civil society and governments of member states. The sharing of best practices among member states is another important tool. Example-setting measures are encouraged by insisting on the pioneering role that public service media should have in matters of gender equality and by encouraging self-regulatory measures such as codes of ethics and internal supervision. The division also collaborates with and promotes the work of other institutions and organisations, for instance UNESCO’s precious “Gender-Sensitive Indicators for Media” (GSIM) or the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) and its Global Reports on the Status of Women in the News Media.

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Back Council of Europe publishes new Report on gender equality and media

Council of Europe publishes new Report on gender equality and media

A new analytical Report looking at the current legal and policy situation regarding gender equality and media has been jointly released by the Council of Europe’s Gender Equality Commission and Steering Committee on Media and Information Society. It examines the progress made since the adoption of Recommendation CM/Rec(2013)1 on gender equality and media, based on a questionnaire addressed in 2019 to member states, media organisations, media regulators and media self-regulatory bodies.

The Report concludes that some progress took place at the level of national legislations and media regulations. It also highlights some promising concrete initiatives and awareness raising activities undertaken by different stakeholders.

However, despite some progress, media coverage of gender equality issues and of violence against women as well as gender inequalities in the profession, high levels of violence against women journalists and a weak representation of women in decision-making roles still need to be addressed. The Report highlights that the mindset and culture in newsrooms must be tackled, with the participation of the industry, in order for the media sector to contribute at its fullest to gender equality. Read the report here.

Strasbourg 23 July 2020
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ASSESSING CHALLENGES

The MSI-MED, Committee of experts on pluralism of the media and transparency of media ownership, prepared a Study on the issue of gender equality in the media coverage of elections. The study reaffirms the need to mainstream gender equality and incorporate it in all aspects of electoral coverage, including through implementation of the existing standards of the Council of Europe, as well as through media education and research.

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