Employment of Women in Media Industry - Essay Example

Objective: To find out at what levels of the media industry are women most likely to be employed and to analyse whether, if they had more power within the industry, it would change gender portrayals. Introduction: "Media industry" is a broad term that encompasses news media (print and electronic), advertising and motion pictures. For our present discussion we shall consider news media (print and electronic) with a brief mention about advertising, as it is a part of them and can only be explained in the context of the one or the other. "Motion pictures" being too vast a subject could be the subject matter of a separate essay. Women have moved into the media industry in large numbers in the 1970s and the 1980s but they have, by and large remained at lower levels doing 'soft reporting' or 'desk jobs' excluded from the decision-making and executive positions. (Ross 2004). The situation is not very different in the advertising industry, as we will see in the discussion on the industry. Women in British Media: Many media commentators described the 1990s as the decade of women. The (then) Conservative government in Britain initiated affirmative action to employ women in large numbers in all sectors including the media industry. There was an apprehension that there would not be enough female graduates to fill job demand. In 1990, three women were actually appointed as editors of national newspapers. This is not to say that the atmosphere of gender discrimination has totally changed. Soft Jobs and the Fair Sex: Even in the allocation of routine jobs, there is a gender divide. By convention men journalists covered news stories concerning politics, crime, finance, education and upbringing; women covered 'human interest', consumer news, culture and social policy. Men covered the 'facts', 'sensation' and 'male' angles while women covered the 'background and effects', 'compassion', 'general' and 'female' angles. The sources for men were men and women were women. The ethics behind men's stories were detached while those of women's were based on social needs. (Carter 1998 36 - Adapted from table) Is it different in the U.S. : In 2001 there were only 14 women on the boards of directors governing large global media conglomerates. Newspapers employed 37% women but only 22% of them reached supervisory positions - positions that are just one rung above the bottom. Broadcast journalism employs 26% women as local TV news directors, 17% as local TV managers and 13% as general managers in radio stations. The silver lining of the situation according to Byerly is that many male journalists today identify with feminism and "indeed, have taken their feminist colleagues' side to protest sexist news coverage as well as to demand more egalitarian newsroom policies." (Byerly 2004 113) And Internationally : The situation is not much different internationally. A survey by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), world's largest journalists' association, shows that the number of women journalists varies widely: from 6% in Sri Lanka to around 50% in Finland. But at higher - decision making - levels like editors, department heads and media owners, the numbers are very low and account for barely 6%. The percentage is highest (10-20) in Cyprus, Costa Rica, Mexico and Sweden. (Byerly 2004 109-126) Social Milieu and Women in Media: When we seek to analyze the levels at which women are employed by the media industry, it is important to consider the socio-political milieu in which the industry functions and the power the industry wields. This is because media too is a product of the socio-political milieu and cannot be considered in isolation. The social power of the communication (media) industries has long been recognised "as being at the heart of contemporary societies industrially, economically, politically and culturally" (Marris et. al. (eds.) 1999 13). Electronic age and the advent of the internet have added a new powerful thrust to traditional media, which primarily consisted of print media, radio and motion pictures and their advertising components. Enzensberger says that the power of the media is its ability to mobilize social institutions. "The open secret of the electronic media, the decisive political factor, which has been waiting, suppressed or crippled, for its moment to come, is their mobilizing power." (Enzensberger 1999 69). Three main functions have been attributed to mass media. The first function of mass media is that it confers status to public issues, persons, organisations and social movements. For example the socio-economic philosophy of a political party gains credence when a leading newspaper like The Times endorses it. The second important function of mass media is that it enforces social norms. It exposes deviations from current social moralities. The third function of the media - although it may seem controversial - has been acknowledged by some authorities as rendering society dysfunctional by the sheer volume of information that it imparts. Lazarsfeld argues that the flood of information intellectually narcotises people, as they spend more time reading, listening or viewing. People are informed, they are concerned and have ideas for doing something (about the social ills) but they are narcotised into falling into the fallacy of substituting knowing for doing. (Lazarsfeld et. al. 1999 19-25) Lazarsfeld named three more profound effects the media has on society. They are: (1) monopolization - in as much the media promotes conformity, it brooks no opposition, (2) canalization of attitudes and beliefs into conformity and (3) supplementation of human-to-human contact with inanimate images. ((Lazarsfeld et. al. 1999 24-26) The obverse of the function described as enforcing social norms is conformity to social mores. These roles that the media plays are responsible in diverse ways for the role women play or do not play in the functioning of media industry. They assign a stereotypical role to women in the media both as characters and as players. Dimbleby argues that while the media has not created stereotypes it has contributed to the amplification and perpetuation of them: " But while the media are guilty of reinforcing stereotypes, they have not invented them. The worrying thing is that stereotypes are also often a collection of prejudices. In this sense the power of the media becomes destructive because in repeating stereotypes they are repeating prejudices on a grand scale." (Dimbleby 1998 181) The ascendance of women from socialite glamour figures to be featured on 'page 3' to attract public attention and increase circulation to newsmakers and newscasters was a long time in coming but in the 1990s there has been a decisive shift towards greater emancipation. Carter argues that this shift towards what she calls New Journalism was because of economic and political factors that women's issues were able to throw up: "A range of factors were responsible for this shift, not least of which was the fact that newspaper proprietors and advertisers (especially in the domestic goods markets) alike were becoming increasingly inclined to regard women consumers as an important audience on their own terms." (Carter 1998 13-33) Old Boys' Clubs: The pattern of ownership of the media could be one of the prime reasons for the prevailing atmosphere of gender discrimination. Chadwick complains that newspapers are run like old boys' clubs. If women wanted jobs they had to play by the rules of the clubs: " They wanted the jobs; they therefore played by the rules in order to get them. The rules were not changed to facilitate the progress of female journalists Long hours, drinks with the boys and a disregard for childcare (no workplace nurseries here) remain the norm." (Chadwick 1994 131-144) Chadwick argues that the ownership of the newspapers by rich, white middle-aged men (who are perforce conservative) and their editorship (usually) by similar type of men explains their reticence to change with changing times (in giving women their due role). She laments that columns like "Guardian Women" and "Femail" which profess to deal with social issues like divorce, childcare, healthcare, adoption and fertility problems bespeak of a mindset that views problems as concerning only one half of the population. (Chadwick 1994 131-144) The situation does not seem to be much different in the U.S.A. "Economic power" says Byerly "proceeds from the fixed structural relations - in Marxist terms, determined by ownership and executive control over resources, strategic plans, formulation of personnel policies etc. by those in top echelons." (Byerly 2004 113) It appears, in the United States, news corporations are entirely owned by wealthy white men with a minuscule representation of women and persons of non-European origin. If the owners run media like old boys' clubs, the other important factor that has a controlling interest in the running of media is big business. As the media is largely not only commercially owned but also commercially sponsored, it has a vested interest in social conformity to the extent of depraving popular taste by formula-izing themes (of fiction) that it propagates. Much has been written about the role of women in the media but for the lay public, the press and television are the media. Advertising is often overlooked. About fifteen minutes every hour (25%) on television and almost 40% of space in print is taken up by advertisements. Women "sell" everything from bath sops to fast cars - not to speak of foods, kitchen and household appliances - in these advertisements. But what role do they play in making these advertisements Cadwalladr wrote that in an industry that is estimated to be worth 18.3 billion annually in Britain, there are only two female creative directors, one each employed by Saatchi and BBH. Her article was based on her interview with Neil French, World Creative Director at WPP, the second largest advertising group in the world. Her article has some startling revelations. She says let alone getting to the top, women barely exist in the industry; they suffer one of the worst gender biases in Britain. Research says that although women wield 80% of all purchasing power, men make 83% of all 'creatives', as the advertising industry calls them. Cadwalladr echoes Chadwick when she says that advertising industry too is run on the lines of an old boys' club, like the newspaper industry. Employing more women to creative positions is no solution because they would - anyway - be expected to conform to - presumably male cultural values. The situation is not going to change for the better in the foreseeable future according to her, as this is a problem of not just the industry but the society as a whole. (Cadwalladr 2005) Conclusion: Much has changed for women in the media industries but the changes that occurred are minuscule compared to the roles they do and can play in a larger democratised world. The old order of an undeclared apartheid is crumbling but the new age of a democratic polity in which they enjoy equal respect and status as men do is not yet in. There is a lot of cynicism and even diehard feminists are sceptical about any radical changes occurring in the status of women, in the foreseeable future. The basis for the cynicism is easily understood: media being a product of the society cannot change in isolation without corresponding changes occurring in the society itself. A lot of social affirmative action is needed before this happens. Let us hope that not only the virtual reality of the cyber world - as some feminists hope but the real world of terra firma will see such a democratic polity in the not too distant future. Cyberspace offers hope! : Most researchers seem to agree that the cyber world has the potential to play a powerful role in democratizing the media and afford women their due. Feminists were initially skeptical about the advent of 'one more medium' that would tread the traditional path of conformity. To their pleasant surprise they find that it ushers in a new platform for women to 'chatter', 'natter', 'work' and 'play'. Plant is jubilant of the possibilities that cyber feminism can unleash by opening up spaces not only "for existing women in an existing culture, but also because of the extent to which they undermine both the world view and the material reality of two thousand years of patriarchal control." For her "patriarchy is not a construction, an order of a structure, but an economy, for which women are the first and founding commodities." She foresees such an order crumbling under the impact of the power that cyberspace confers on women. (Plant 1999 835-836) For Young, the internet era offers "new contexts to old problems, just as much as it introduces fresh opportunities related to old contexts." The focus on two forms of politics, ' of space' and 'of social interaction' "signal the real significance and impact of the so-called virtual realm of the internet." (Young 2004185-204) Bibliographic References: Byerly, C.M., Feminist Interventions in Newsrooms. (2004) eds. Ross Karen and Byerly, C.M., Women and Media International Perspectives. p.109-131 Oxford. Blackwell. Cadwalladr, C., This advertising boss thinks women make 'crap' executives. It seems he's not alone. The Observer. Focus Sexism Row. October 23, 2005. (2005-11-22) URL: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/0,3637,5316426-102274,00.html Carter, Cynthia. News, Gender and Power. 1998. ebrary collections. British Council - India. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/britishcouncilonline/Docid=10054945&ppg=15 (22 Nov. 2005).Copyright 1998. Routledge. All rights reserved. Chadwick, Ruth (Editor). Ethical Issues in Journalism & the Media. 1994. ebrary collections. British Council - India. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/britishcouncilonline/Docid=10017035&ppg=144 (22 Nov. 2005). Copyright 1994. Routledge. All rights reserved. Dimbleby, Richard. More Than Words: An Introduction to Communication. 1998. ebrary collections. British Council - India. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/britishcouncilonline/Docid=5002862&ppg=200 (21 Nov. 2005). Copyright 1998. Routledge. All rights reserved. Enzensberger, H.M., (1999) Constituents of a Theory of the Media. Media Studies A Reader. eds. Marris Paul and Thornham S., p. 68. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Lazarsfeld, P. F., and Merton, R.K., (1999) Mass Communication, Popular Taste and Organised Social Action. Media Studies A Reader. eds. Marris Paul and Thornham S., p. 18 - 30. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Marris Paul and Thornham S., (eds.) (1999) Media Studies A Reader. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Plant Sadie, On the Matrix: Cyberfeminist Simulations. (2004) eds. Marris Paul and Thornham S., (eds.) (1999) Media Studies A Reader. p. 835-47 Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Ross Karen. Women Framed: The Gendered Turn in Mediated Politics. (2004) eds. Ross Karen and Byerly, C.M., Women and Media International Perspectives. p.60-76 Oxford. Blackwell. Young, Gillian. Cyberspace: The New Feminist Frontier (2004) eds. Ross Karen and Byerly, C.M., Women and Media International Perspectives. p.185-204 Oxford. Blackwell. N.B.: I do not know whether the fonts retain their colour on uploading but if they do colour coding in the text is to highlight important points. I have answered below, points raised by you in your mail. I do hope the essay in its revised form meets your expectations. Replies to Customer's comments: I've just finished reading the paper. As u caqn see in this essay, it doesn't really answer the question which is 'what levels of the media industry are women MOST likely to be employed and if they had more power nwith in industry, it would change gender portrayals'. The paper has been re-written as per your comments. I think the INTRODUCTION is too general could u please specific to the point of the topic about women in media industry. This has been done. Next, i don't understand the 3 paragraphs ' the OLD BOYS' clubs moreover you refer to IBID 24-26 but i can't see in the references. The references are from the same source (Ibid). I have mentioned the source again to avoid confusion. The sixth paragraph ' The ascendance of women from PAGE 3 characters to newsmakers......... What u mean by page 3 "Page 3" clarified and explained. On paragraph 12 lines 10 ...many male journalists today identify with feminism!!!!!!! I'm not quite clear in this sentence. Byerly in her article "Feminist Interventions in Newsrooms" stated that the situation (gender discrimination) is changing with many male journalists taking up feminist causes (to end discrimination). This is the 'silver lining' mentioned. I have included the quotation to clarify it further. Finally, the conclusion is too short can u make it to the point that how women in media industry has changed and in the future which sector of the media industry that women trend to be promoted/employed. Expanded. But even feminist writers believe that radical changes cannot be expected with regard to the status of women - even if a few of them are elevated to decision making levels as happened in 1990, when three women were appointed as editors - unless there is a cultural shift in society 'per se' in giving women their 'due'. Topic: In which sectors of the media industry are women most likely to be employed At which levels of authority If women had more power within the media industry, would it change the industry's gender portrayals Instructions: Module- Principles of Mass Communications A 1,500 word critical analysis of an example of mass communication that reflects on the conceptual frameworks offered in the module. *Assessment Guidelines* The critical analysis is designed primarily to develop your research and critical skills. It ought to be a piece of social scientific research for a particular area of mass communications. The analysis should aim to provide a full overview of the individual topic be contextualising the development, noting its key features, and analyzing it from the point of view of and appropriate theoretical position. You should summarize the context and main features, including and relevant debates and discussions in the area and draw upon appropriate literature or theoretical positions Created: 2005-11-16 19:43Deadline: 2005-11-23 17:43 Time Left:148 hours Style:HarvardLanguage Style: English (U.K.)Grade: n/aPages:6Sources: 10 In which sectors of the media industry are women most likely to be employed At which levels of authority If women had more within the media industry, would it change the industry's gender portrayals These are the required book that we used in the module and it will be necessary for this essay 1. Curran J and M Gurevitch (eds.)(2005) Mass Media and society, Fourth edition London: Arnold 2. McQuail, D (2005) McQuail's Mass Communication Theory, 5th edition, London: Sage Publication Read More