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Women Make the News

Region

Global

Programme Summary

Launched in 2000, this annual initiative is a campaign to encourage media managers to give fair consideration to female newsroom staff in terms of assignments, positions, and career development opportunities. Each year, in honour of the International Day of Women (March 8), the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) works in conjunction with the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) to bring attention to the fact that (according to UNESCO), although women journalists are increasingly present in numbers in both electronic and print media, not enough women rise above the "glass ceiling" to key editorial and leadership positions. This campaign involves inviting print and broadcast media to share - via an interactive website - features, articles, interviews, and television and radio programmes dedicated to each year's "Day" (e.g., in 2008: "Women's Untold Stories"). to highlight women’s multiple talents, achievements and contributions to their communities. We are therefore inviting you to submit to our website your stories for others to learn from them.

Communication Strategies

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".

Development Issues

Women, Gender, Rights.

Key Points

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 glamourous 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."

Partners

UNESCO, IFJ.

Contact

Iskra Panevska
Programme Specialist, Communication Development Division - Media and Society Section
United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

Street 1, rue Miollis

Paris
75732
France
Tel: 33 1 45 68 40 25
Fax: 33 1 45 68 55 85


Placed on the Communication Initiative site May 22 2008
Last Updated May 22 2008



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Buenas noches amigos. Me encantaría poder tener algunas de estas experiencias de mujeres talentosas en el mundo si lo tienen en español por favor enviarmelo al siguiente correo:
comunicacionells@hotmail.com. Es para pasarlo a través de una emisora local en el distrito de Villa El Salvador.
Un abrazo y en contacto,
Nelly Sánchez
Periodista
01 993722371

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