katherine st asaph

By almost every other measure, media remains overwhelmingly male, and it’s getting maler.

Last year, women made up only 22 percent of the local radio workforce, compared to 29.2 percent in 2010. Women’s representation in sports news hasn’t budged since 2008 (just 11 percent of editors, 10 percent of columnists, and 7 percent of reporters are women). In one year, women dropped from 20 percent of behind-the-scenes entertainment television roles to just 4 percent. Worldwide, women are the subjects of 24 percent of news stories. Just 21 percent of Sunday morning television commentators are women. Only a third of speaking characters in films are female (and about a quarter of them are dressed sexily). Women direct 5 percent of films. And it’s not for lack of talent or enthusiasm: Women make up 73 percent of journalism and mass communication graduates.