According to the most recent report from the Women's Media Center (WMC), women are underrepresented in all areas of mainstream media production in the United States.1 The WMC has been reporting on the gender gap for the past five years, documenting the lack of parity in newsrooms, on radio, on TV, and in the film industry in order to track “progress,” “regress,” and “pushback” in media production. Similar studies are being conducted around the world, as individuals and organizations attempt to address the lack of diversity as well as the structural limitations facing women and minorities working in media industries.2 What these studies and campaigns have in common is the recognition that labor parity, in terms of opportunity and pay, is fundamental to creating and maintaining social equality in media production.
Questions about the lack of opportunities (in production, but also on-screen and in positions of power) resurface...
University of California Press