Author: Jasmine R. Linabary

Report Your Thoughts: What organizations or individuals are making strides?

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Editor’s note: Our findings through our monitoring projects have served to identify and bring attention to the fact that women’s voices are missing, but have left us with more questions than answers. That’s why we’re taking our project a step further by starting a discussion on why this is the case and what can be done about it. This is part of a series of posts each week aiming to start a discussion on gender representations in online news. View past “Report Your Thoughts” discussions here.

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Question 5: What organizations or individuals are making strides?

We started this series by reviewing and discussing the problems of the representation of women in the news (mostly via the Twitter hashtag #GRdiscuss). We talked about why women are absent as sources and authors of the news as well as why women should be included. Findings, including from our studies here at The Gender Report, show that women are a quarter or less of news sources and slightly over a third of news authors.

Now we are on to solutions. Last week, we discussed ideas to increase the number of women who are sources and authors of the news. Now, we want to point out individuals and organizations who are making a difference in this area.

We want to hear from you. Tell us about an individual or a group making strides. What part of the problem are they working on and what’s their solution? How can people get involved?

Join the discussion by sharing your thoughts in the comment section as well as on Twitter with the hashtag #GRdiscuss or on our Facebook page.

Update: The following organizations were suggested during discussion, mainly on Twitter using the #GRdiscuss hashtag.

Add your favorite organization or individual working for change to the list via the comment section below. Also, check out our “Gender and News” list on Twitter for others worth checking out.

Gender check: 9/8/11 – Midwest

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*Gender Checks are quick examinations of gender representation in individual news articles for the purpose of discovering trends over time. Click here to read more.

Website: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (stltoday.com)

"Economic legacies of 9/11 loom large in St. Louis" - Stltoday.com, 9/8/2011

On Stltoday.com, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 8:50 a.m. (PDT) Thursday, Sept. 8, was titled “Economic legacies of 9/11 loom large in St. Louis.” Its subject was a look at the impact of 9/11 on the economy.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

  1. Male, was director of regional leadership council
  2. Male, university economist
  3. Male, bank president
  4. Female, airport director
  5. Male, CEO of airline
  6. Male, longtime economic development official
  7. Male, defense analyst at a brokerage

Notes/analysis: The article includes five photos. In four photos, the gender of individuals is discernible through the help of captions. Three of the images feature males solely (one military and two construction) and one image focuses on two female military members but also includes males.


Website: St. Louis Beacon

On the St. Louis Beacon, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 8:50 a.m. (PDT) Thursday, Sept. 8, was titled “Missouri senators adjourn until Monday in effort to save economic package.” Its subject was an economic development package. The first two sources are part of the update to the story listed first followed by the original story in full.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Female

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

  1. Male, state Senate president pro tem (R)
  2. Male, state senator (R)
  3. Female, chair of group Show-me Patriots
  4. Male, St. Louis mayor
  5. Male, director of a Tea-party aligned group
  6. Male, housing director for senior services
  7. Male, state senator (D)
  8. Male, state senator (R)
  9. Male, state senator, committee chair (R)
  10. Male, chief executive of Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry
  11. Male, state senator (R)
  12. Male, state senator (R)
  13. Male, state senator (R)
  14. Male, head of K & N Patriots

Notes/analysis: A female state senator was mentioned with source No. 8, but was not given her own statement or quote as was the male source. Two mugshots with the story were both of males. The two photos with the story featured a mix of males and females.

Gender check: 9/6/11 – West

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*Gender Checks are quick examinations of gender representation in individual news articles for the purpose of discovering trends over time. Click here to read more.

Website: Seattle Times

"Growing enrollments bring rebirth for 2 Seattle schools" - Seattle Times, 9/6/2011

On the Seattle Times, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 12:35 p.m. (PDT) Tuesday, Sept. 6, was titled “Growing enrollments bring rebirth for 2 Seattle schools.” Its subject was two schools reopening after district enrollment increases.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Female

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

  1. Male, school board member
  2. Female, principal
  3. Female, principal
  4. Female, parent
  5. Female, school librarian

Notes/analysis: The article includes two photos – one of a female and one of a male. Both were taken by female photographer.

Website: Seattle P-I

On the Seattle P-I, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 12:35 p.m. (PDT) Tuesday, Sept. 6, was titled “Police: ‘Possessed’ Auburn woman ritualistically attacked man, children.” Its subject was a woman charged with felony assault for allegedly torturing a housemate and his daughter for over a year.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

  1. Male, victim (via court documents)
  2. Female, deputy prosecutor
  3. Female, detective
  4. Female, victim (via court documents)

Report Your Thoughts: What’s the solution?

Jasmine R. LinabaryLeave a comment

Editor’s note: Our findings through our monitoring projects have served to identify and bring attention to the fact that women’s voices are missing, but have left us with more questions than answers. That’s why we’re taking our project a step further by starting a discussion on why this is the case and what can be done about it. This is part of a series of posts each week aiming to start a discussion on gender representations in online news. View past “Report Your Thoughts” discussions here.

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Question 4: What’s the solution?

Now that we’ve discussed (mostly via the Twitter hashtag #GRdiscuss) the reasons why women are absent as sources and authors of the news as well as why it matters that women are included, we’d like to shift the focus to how we can effect change in this area.

So, what’s the solution? Women make up a quarter or less of news sources and slightly over a third of news authors. What are some ways to increase the percentage of women included as news sources and increase the number of female reporters in the newsroom and with lead bylines?

Share your thoughts in the comment section as well as on Twitter with the hashtag #GRdiscuss or on our Facebook page.

Update: Discussion of this week’s question so far as mostly taken place on Twitter with the #GRdiscuss hashtag.

Here are some snapshots of the discussion:

Gender check: 9/1/11 – Midwest

Jasmine R. LinabaryLeave a comment

*Gender Checks are quick examinations of gender representation in individual news articles for the purpose of discovering trends over time. Click here to read more.

Website: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (stltoday.com)

On Stltoday.com, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 8:45 a.m. (PDT) Thursday, Sept. 1, was titled “East St. Louis mother killed two children, fled, say police.” Its subject was a woman arrested after she allegedly shot her two youngest children and hit three pedestrians with her car.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

  1. Male, police captain
  2. Female, cousin of the suspect
  3. Male, lt. with state police
  4. Female, of TV station


Website: St. Louis Beacon

St. Louis Beacon, 9//1/11

On the St. Louis Beacon, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 8:45 a.m. (PDT) Thursday, Sept. 1, was titled “McCaskill brands wartime waste ‘disgusting’ at time of budget cuts.” Its subject was a report on wartime contracting.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

  1. Female, U.S. senator (D)
  2. Male, co-chair of commission that created the report
  3. Male, co-chair of commission

Notes/analysis: The article contains one mug shot, of a female, as well as an image from Afghanistan featuring a group of males.