Women Make the News

This global operation to promote gender equality in the media draws largely on an interactive website designed to encourage news media to give editorial responsibility to women editors and journalists on International Women's Day, and beyond. Each year, UNESCO invites women to produce news stories and features highlighting their talents, achievements, and contributions from their own perspective. Women Make the News also invites media organisations taking part in the campaign to share their production stories and upload pertinent articles and news products onto the dedicated project website; the stories collected are intended to provide practical examples that organisers believe will inspire others and raise the visibility of the role women play in the news as correspondents, as newsmakers, and as valuable and authoritative sources of information. Women Make the News' editors-in-chief choose the news to be covered, determine the points of view in covering the news, allot the time to items, and express media values through "editorial choices".

Women, Gender, Rights.

UNESCO claims to be committed to the principle of equality of opportunity and to the highest principles of professionalism in journalism without discriminating on the basis of gender, race, or religion. The organisation notes that "Three international media monitoring projects by the World Association for Christian Communication in 1995, 2000 and 2005, revealed that perspectives on women are rarely nuanced: Mainstream media tend to portray women as unrealistically glamorous or as victims of abuse, notably of sexual abuse." Reportedly, too, "For many women journalism profession continues to represent harsh realities in terms of job safety and job security, access to facilities, choice of assignments and discriminatory treatment. Progress of women journalists' careers is still hampered by lingering stereotypes and subtle discrimination. Women journalists continue to face substantial obstacles to full participation in the newsroom - particularly in terms of management opportunities."

Click here to read about the launch of Women Make the News (WMN) 2013 initiative under the theme, Towards a Global Alliance on Media and Gender.