Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/933296
maltatoday SUNDAY 28 JANUARY 2018 6 News MARIA PACE A case study on Malta's media in- dustry has revealed women are dis- criminated against in the workplace, making up only 16% of decision- making roles. Malta is lagging behind the EU average when it comes to gender equality in the media sector, the study published by the European Parliament's think-tank revealed. "Across Europe, and across media types, women remain significantly under-represented in the media workforce, particularly at decision- making levels," the study said. Malta was the lowest-ranked country out of the four states fo- cused on - Austria, Malta, Sweden, and the UK - falling well behind the EU average, with no women at all in the positions of CEO, executive, and non-executive director. Stereotypes in Malta's media sector Interviews were conducted with six women working in the media, three respondents working in women's organisations, and one respondent working in a media regulatory body. All Maltese respondents said that in Malta there were differences in how women and men are portrayed in the news. They all identified a range of stere- otypes in play in Maltese media. For example, one respondent working for a women's organisation noted that, in general, women appeared in soft, "housewifely" programmes on radio and TV, and that "even if they are reading the news, there are men above them." Another respondent talked about the widespread use of the sexualised "blonde bimbo" trope, and noted sexist headline "templates", such as "Russian blonde – beautiful 21-year- old woman." She said no similar ste- reotypical template was used when journalists report on men. One woman, who works with a women's organisation, discussed the persistence of negative stereo- types, and reporting on and portray- als of women in negative frames. She asked why positive stereotypes are not used more: "instead of call- ing protesting women 'fluffy har- ridans', report on them as 'plucky, brave women'. After all, if the re- port was about men protesting they would be called 'outspoken'." Another respondent working in a busy newsroom, expressed the view that there were "definitely differ- ences in print news." As an example, she noted that, "when a news item reports a successful woman, she will invariably be referred to as 'a mother of three'. A man would never be de- scribed as 'a father of two'. Women are constantly identified by their family role." The stereotypes found in Maltese media reflects the national psyche, one woman said, a combination of the cultural norms of a Mediterra- nean culture and a strong religious, non-secular culture. She described an example of the prevailing "macho mind-set": after a group of female activists presented a statement to Government, a media backlash followed, including com- mentary that "a man must have been behind it." The implication, she not- ed, was that "women couldn't have produced such a well-written or well-informed political statement." The social media sector might dif- fer slightly, as one respondent said the sector can be more careful when it comes to the use of negative ste- reotypes, given the potential for im- mediate backlash. Discrimination and Harassment in the workplace Five respondents working in news- rooms, social media, and gaming commented on issues with discrimi- nation in recruitment, promotion, and allocation of work. Respondents working in newsrooms agreed that discrimination existed around the allocation of work in this setting. One respondent working in a print newsroom described a scenario where a male colleague was promot- ed to decision-making positions de- spite the presence of capable women. Another woman reported discrim- inatory practices in the allocation of 'hard news' versus 'soft news' stories: "My male colleagues were allocated hard news items, while the women were sent out to do the 'human in- terest' pieces." The sector is not free from har- assment and bullying either. One respondent described her 'shock- ing initiation' into a now defunct newspaper's newsroom, when she was young and starting out in journalism: "the men stood around watching porn, and the news edi- tor would call to and refer to the female journalists in derogatory sexual terms. " Other respondents said that the newsroom could be a very sex- ist environment. One female news journalist reported that "It is a very macho environment. If you survive it, you'll survive anything." In contrast, another woman work- ing in a different newsroom described a 'healthier' working environment: "When female employees reported Malta's media sector lags behind gender equality EU average Level Role % / Numbers Malta EU Strategic CEOs % Women 0% 16% Total positions 2 Board % Women 38% 25% Members Total positions 8 Operational CEOs % Women 0% 21% Total positions 4 Other % Women 19% 32% managers Total positions 21 Heads of % Women 0% 36% Directorate Total positions 8 Heads of % Women N/A 32% Department Total positions 0 Total percentage at all levels 16% 30% Women in decision-making roles in the Maltese media workforce IGM acting head and TVM anchorwoman Norma Saliba with sports presenter Chris Cauchi: few women in Maltese media are given decision-making roles