Percentage of women in news as subjects, sources, drops to 14% in 2020 in India: Report

In India, the overall percentage of women in news as subjects and sources dropped to 14 percent in 2020, across print, TV, and radio, according to research conducted by the Global Media Monitoring Project, which was coordinated in India by the Network of Women in Media, India.

The overall percentage of women in news as subjects and sources was 21 percent in 2015, and 22 percent in 2010. The report also found that many more male reporters were deployed in 2020 than female reporters across all major news topics, including gender.

This is the sixth study in the series, in which 116 countries including India participated. Only 14 percent of all the stories coded in 2020 focused on women, according to the report.

There was also a sharp decline of women in news sources in 2020. Women news sources, the report said, “continued to be drawn from occupations outside the core of the power structure, such as the entertainment sector and the social work/social activism sector.” Sixty percent were from the category of celebrities, artists, actors, writers, singers, etc. Women’s function as spokesperson also dropped to eight percent in 2020 from 15 percent in 2015.

The report also noted that the job losses and realignments that unfolded as a result of the pandemic have had a significant impact on women journalists. It said that there are fewer journalists across all mediums – print, television, radio – since the pandemic.

“Many have moved on – not always by choice – from employment in major media organisations to independent journalism, which is more precarious,” the report noted.

For the report, the “prevailing situation” is assessed by “structured scrutiny of news coverage on a single day across the world.” You can read the full India report here and the full final report here.