Women Hold Fewer Than a Third of Top News Media Jobs, Foundation Reports

Women represent less than one third of the main decision makers at news companies worldwide as gender inequality leaves top management and governance dominated by males, the International Women’s Media Foundation said. Women occupy about 27 percent of the leading managerial jobs such as chief executive officer and about 26 percent of governing board positions, according to a survey of 522 newspaper, radio and television companies by the Washington- based advocacy group.

Women hold 39 percent of the senior management positions that include managing editor and bureau chief, the two-year study released today shows. A so-called glass ceiling exists at companies in 20 of the 59 nations studied, mainly for senior jobs and in middle management, which includes chief correspondents and design directors, the IWMF said. The foundation, which surveyed 170,000 people, said it will discuss strategies to “level the playing field.” Women are close to reaching parity in news-gathering, editing and writing jobs, representing 41 percent of those positions, the study shows. Overall, women represent 35 percent of the full-and part-time journalism workforce worldwide.