PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
UN: 'Women remain underrepresented in media'
New York, US (PANA) - The UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women
(UN Women) says women continue to remain underrepresented in the media across the
world, stressing the need to engage more women in media work to promote gender issues.
The agency, in a statement circulated at the ongoing 59th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women taking place at the UN headquarters in New York, stated that although there has been some improvement over the last decades, but more needs to be done.
It said: "The entertainment and news media have traditionally been dominated by men", and urged countries to give women more opportunities to exercise leadership in those sectors.
It quoted Hollywood actress Geena Davis, who is attending the session, as saying that "the portrayal of female characters in movies is a first step to raising the profile of women in the industry."
She said men who work in film often do not realize women are underrepresented.
"The good news for us is how stunned they are, they are absolutely shocked, their jaws drop until they are on the ground when they hear the numbers. For example, in crowd scenes in films, only 17 per cent of the characters are female.
"Maybe Hollywood writers think that women do not gather. I think this room here is proof that we do and that we get along very nicely," she noted.
Women in the media is one of the 12 critical areas of focus in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which was agreed by the international community 20 years ago.
The declaration is considered as the most progressive blueprint ever for advancing women’s rights.
PANA recalls that in her message at the opening of the session, UN Women Executive Director, Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, applauded global progress in the mission of empowering women, but called on countries to lead substantial change towards gender equality in the next five years, in order to attain Planet 50-50 by 2030.
UN Women is the UN agency dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, and it also serve as a global champion for women and girls.
It was established in July 2010, by the UN General Assembly to accelerate the organization’s goals on gender equality and the empowerment of women, as well as ensure progress on meeting the needs of women worldwide.
-0- PANA AA/VAO 12March2015
(UN Women) says women continue to remain underrepresented in the media across the
world, stressing the need to engage more women in media work to promote gender issues.
The agency, in a statement circulated at the ongoing 59th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women taking place at the UN headquarters in New York, stated that although there has been some improvement over the last decades, but more needs to be done.
It said: "The entertainment and news media have traditionally been dominated by men", and urged countries to give women more opportunities to exercise leadership in those sectors.
It quoted Hollywood actress Geena Davis, who is attending the session, as saying that "the portrayal of female characters in movies is a first step to raising the profile of women in the industry."
She said men who work in film often do not realize women are underrepresented.
"The good news for us is how stunned they are, they are absolutely shocked, their jaws drop until they are on the ground when they hear the numbers. For example, in crowd scenes in films, only 17 per cent of the characters are female.
"Maybe Hollywood writers think that women do not gather. I think this room here is proof that we do and that we get along very nicely," she noted.
Women in the media is one of the 12 critical areas of focus in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which was agreed by the international community 20 years ago.
The declaration is considered as the most progressive blueprint ever for advancing women’s rights.
PANA recalls that in her message at the opening of the session, UN Women Executive Director, Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, applauded global progress in the mission of empowering women, but called on countries to lead substantial change towards gender equality in the next five years, in order to attain Planet 50-50 by 2030.
UN Women is the UN agency dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, and it also serve as a global champion for women and girls.
It was established in July 2010, by the UN General Assembly to accelerate the organization’s goals on gender equality and the empowerment of women, as well as ensure progress on meeting the needs of women worldwide.
-0- PANA AA/VAO 12March2015
