Women poorly portrayed in French speaking dailies in Belgium

A study led by the Belgian association of professional journalists (AJP) on diversity and equality shows that women make less than 18% of people interviewed in French speaking dailies, which is 5 times less than men. The new figures show no progress in this field since the last survey conducted in 2011 by AJP. The figures also score below global figures which estimate the presence of women in the news to 24% across all media. Women are not often quoted in information related to sports (7%), politics (18%), environment (16%) or in larger analysis. The study shows also that women have greater presence in areas such as education (37%), health and well-being (36%) or crime, accidents (30%). They represent only 14% of spokespersons and experts interviewed, are more generally interviewed in roles of vox populi and are still too often identified by their first name only (41%). To counter those media biases the AJP is working on a diversity database including women experts from diverse backgrounds. An “interactive, attractive and regularly updated” tool that meets the needs of journalists and should help to expand and diversify the panel of sources in the media”, said the AJP.  Read full study in French here.