How can the international news media represent women’s voices better? A recent report, “From outrage to opportunity: How to include the missing perspectives of women of all colours in news leadership and coverage” by Luba Kassova discusses gender parity in news leadership and production, as well as news coverage. It was commissioned by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and is based on extensive research in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, India, the UK and the US.

In an article in The Conversation, Professor Ylva Rodny-Gumede of University of Johannesburg examines gender discrimination in the news media and the hurdles and threats the contemporary media sphere presents to women journalists. Research outlining gender imbalances and female leadership in the news media remains scarce and uneven. The report shows that women in the 6 countries surveyed remain severely underrepresented in editorial leadership and in news coverage. Their voices are excluded in shaping public discourse in the male-dominated industry. Ensuring better representation of women’s voices in the news media would change not only the industry, but also public discourse.

Other studies show that where women control news content, it tends to be more gender sensitive and representative. Women journalists are also more likely to challenge gender stereotypes, raise gender inequality issues, and reference legislation or policy that promote gender equality or human rights.

On the upside, the “From outrage to opportunity” report focuses on solutions. It makes a case for addressing the gender gap in news consumption. This provides a multi-billion-dollar revenue opportunity for a struggling global news industry. The report argues that, if the gender gap were to be addressed and women better represented in the news media, the industry could grow female audiences exponentially. It estimates that closing the gender consumption gap could generate as much as US$83 billion over the next 10 years.