Join the fight against gender bias in media

The ABU is asking members and partners in the Asia-Pacific to take part in this year’s Women Make the News initiative to fight gender bias in the media.

The 2013 theme of “Towards a Global Alliance on Media and Gender” is part of an annual initiative renewed each International Women’s Day (on 8 March) by UNESCO with international and regional partners such as the ABU.

UNESCO says Women Make the News (WMN) is a global initiative aimed at focusing global attention on issues relating to gender equality in and through the media, driving debate and encouraging action-oriented solutions until global objectives are met.

Organisers are inviting editors-in-chief of newspapers, radio and television on and offline to join in and to produce special supplements or programs on gender topics and to entrust women journalists and reporters with editorial responsibility for the newsroom for a period.

Available on the WMN website are downloadable material that can be used to promote the initiative in individual organisations. UNESCO and its partners have developed resources including Gender-Sensitive Indicators for Media, by which gender equality in media can be measured.

UNESCO also wants media organisations to get involved in the overall theme of this year’s International Women’s Day “A Promise is a Promise: Time for Action to End Violence Against Women.”

Information about how you can get involved is available from the UNESCO website.