The Word Of A Woman

Although there has been an increase of women in media, either as journalists, anchors or sources, the number still remains lower in comparison to men. The media has been dominated by men throughout the years, who hold the majority of power positions. Women, in contrast, make up only 28.3% of the television news directors and 30.5% of managing directors. Despite a recent newfound strive for gender parity within the employees of news organizations, the utilization of the Bechdel test to evaluate employees in media found that several women in these organizations enjoy their employment but do not benefit from an equal voice. Typically, they are hired to cover topics like weather and culture, usually those having to do specifically with women’s needs and lives. Female representation in the media continues to remain severely low in comparison to that of their male counterparts. A study showed that the speaking time for a woman on French radio or TV was 25% in 2001, and increased to 35% over the next 17 years. Moreover, only 10% of news stories focus on women, and only 20% of experts that are interviewed or asked to weigh in are women. Studies have shown that men are more likely than women to be quoted in a media piece, and most of the quotes for women are usually ordinary statements while those of men are typically more insightful. Men are also more likely to cover topics of greater seriousness or severity, such as politics, law or economy. The status of female testimony in Islam is also disputed. As seen above, statements by women held less significance than those of men, and as such, many Muslim societies have different levels of acceptance for female attestation. In some cases, female testimony is entirely rejected, in others, the testimony must either be supported by that of a man or by another woman, in following the concept of the evidence of two women being equal to the evidence of one man.