8th July, 2021
Online Event at Zoom
An online workshop was held on 8th July 2021 for media students on Zoom, and streamed live on the YouTube channel of Population First. The speakers were: Putul Sathe - researcher with SNDT University, Vinaya Deshpande - senior TV newsperson, Meenakshi Shedde - Film curator, writer, and Gokul Krishnamurthy - former editor of Campaign India Magazine. The discussion was moderated by Daivata Chavan Patil, assistant professor in the University of Mumbai, department of Mass Communication and Journalism. Dr AL Sharada gave the opening remarks. Anuja Gulati - Gender consultant with UNFPA also made her observations.
Some of the important points raised during the discussion are:
• There is no consistent watch out on the way advertising portrays gender and it is more sporadic as a reaction to consumers’ outrage
• A skewed representation of women in movies is also affecting men and their relationships with women
• Writers of movies are architects of our narratives who can be mentored to be more sensitive
• However, there have been movies where women have had strong characters leading the way or support the vulnerable male characters
• In news media, women are proving to be stellar professionals but ratio of men to women in leadership roles continues to be quite skewed
• While taking a break in the middle of the career affects both men and women, and in this aspect the media is gender agnostic, but the impact on women is higher.
• However, Digital section is breaking the norm where we can see senior women journalists taking the lead
• There is a greater degree of sensitivity in advertisements in past years. We are moving from imbalance to a more balanced portrayal
• There is a need for more research into this aspect, where we move beyond anecdotal evidence, and get into more analytical aspects.
• Academia should be able to conduct research, critique and stand firm on countering dominant narratives
• Media students should engage with feminist political theories not only to look for solutions and answers but to understand lived realities of people
The discussion has been viewed by nearly 450 persons on YouTube. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAlM3ATbBbw