Women Make the News 2017

It's easy to be involved in Women Make the News 2017.

The easiest way to be involved is to organise a discussion after your editorial meeting around the Gender Equality Checkup. Go through the checklist with members of your team. Ideally, we want to aim for 50/50 - in sources, journalists bylines and advertising.

There are also other ways you can get involved - if you do something to mark Women Make the News 2017, don't forget to let us know by filling out the online form.

Here are some ideas:

   Take our Gender Equality Checkup

Use the occasion of International Women’s Day to do a Gender Equality Checkup in your organization. It’s a good time to get staff together to talk about gender equality and stereotypes, both within the organization and in the news you produce. Click here to find out more.

   Spread the word on social media   

We have made a range of social media images that highlight gender bias in the news and workplace as part of our Women Make the News campaign. Use the hashtag #IWD, #IWD2017 or #StepItUp.  You can retweet UNESCO's tweet here.

   Turn your news inside out

An easy way to see gender bias on the front page of a website, newspaper or in the first few minutes of a news broadcast is to apply the rule of inversion or role reversal. It helps illustrate the meaning of stereotype. You can also do this exercise with advertising, editorial (including news and sport) and content (such as music, dramas and comedies). Check back here soon for some examples!

   Check out UNESCO's International Women's Day campaign

Since its inception, International Women’s Day has grown into a global celebration of past and present accomplishments of women, and as an opportunity to look ahead to the untapped potential and opportunities for future generations of women. For the celebration of International Women’s Day 2017, UNESCO will focus on Women and Art, showcasing the work of young women artists and discussing the way forward. Click here to find out more.

   Join the #StepItUp for Gender Equality Media Compact

The Gender Media Compact is a partnership to advance women’s empowerment with and through the news media. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by UN Member States in September 2015 is a universal roadmap for people and planet, addressing the key challenges of the 21st century, such as poverty, inequality, and climate change. Women’s empowerment is recognized as a pre-condition to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the core of the 2030 Agenda and media has an important part to play in realizing these goals. Find out more by clicking here.

   Follow International Women's Day events around the world

International Women's Day is celebrated every year on 8 March, and offers a chance for the whole world to come together and work towards achieving gender equality in all areas of life. The theme for International Women’s Day 2017 focuses on “Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030”. Visit the homepages of the United Nations or UN Women.  

   Familiarize yourself with Media and Information Literacy

Empowering citizens through media and information literacy (MIL), to advocate for gender equality is more important than ever. MIL CLICKS is a social media movement led by UNESCO and its objectives are to use social media to: 1) Expose people to become more media and information literate and 2) Raise awareness about the importance of MIL. In an age of “fake news”, MIL is paramount, both on and offline. Click here to read more about it and join the Facebook group to get the most up to date insights on media and information literacy.

Don't forget to tell us what you did by filling out our online form!

For more information about Women Make the News 2017, please contact Alison Meston at a.meston(at)unesco.org.

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