Women in French Media: Do We Need a Law?
Women in French Media: Do We Need a Law?

Summary/Abstract: Unfortunately, the situation for women working within France’s media sector closely resembles that which may be found in the rest of the world. And sometimes it is even worse. Forty-two percent of journalists are women. Yet only 10 percent of female journalists hold a strategic position within the media industry (7 percent in radio; 4 percent in written media). Moreover, males monopolise the major topics and fields of inquiries, particularly where it concerns the economy or politics. Women, consequently, are more frequently assigned stories pertaining to cultural matters. Even if women demonstrate the courage to pursue the riskier stories, e.g., the war in Iraq, their situation improves very (note: very) slowly. In fact, climbing the ladder of social recognition represents perhaps the most difficult task a female journalist may undertake in her career.

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