Gender Issues in News Coverage

This entry discusses the participation and representation of women in the news media. Women entered journalism primarily to appeal to female audiences in the 19th century and were expected to write about topics considered to be of interest for women, such as food, fashion, family and furniture. Today, global studies show that women remain underrepresented at all levels of news organizations, with a glass ceiling preventing women from rising to top positions. Female journalists are especially facing challenges in war reporting and sports reporting, and as opinion columnists. In terms of representation, women are frequently represented in a negative or stereotypical light in the news media. Despite growing interest in the field, there is still a lack of information on these topics outside of Western countries. Future studies should look at gender and news coverage in nations where research is currently absent.