Men’s voices dominate economic news by a factor of two to 31 times more than women’s, according to a 2020 study, and fewer women report on the economy than men. This project tackles that imbalance head-on, focusing on the news production processes that shape how the economy is covered and framed through a gendered lens. No detailed research currently exists that foregrounds women’s perspectives to address these disparities. If successful, the work could shift how economic news is made—not just in the UK but globally. It will produce practical materials for newsrooms, teaching resources for journalism educators, and a network of partners including Women in Journalism, the National Union of Journalists, and UN Women. The goal is to broaden economic discourse, support women experts and practitioners, and help news organisations produce more gender-equal content. The findings could also apply to other fields where women are underrepresented, such as science reporting. This is applied research with direct, actionable outcomes for media policy, editorial practice, and public understanding of the economy.
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A series of economic crises have negatively and disproportionately impacted women's economic progression and opportunities. However, in economic news - a space that can shape the way economic policy is discussed - men's share of voices is between two and 31 times higher than that of women (Kassova 2020) and there are fewer women compared to men reporting on the economy (Knowles 2020). There is currently no detailed research which foregrounds women's perspectives with the aim of addressing these gender issues in economic news. This project will address this gap in journalism and media studies, providing new data on the news production processes that shape and frame economic news in relation to gender. It will critically evaluate how the economy is mediated by women, generate new research agendas, and develop practical materials to support news practitioners to produce more gender-equal economic content. To facilitate these aims, the project lead has partnered with some key industry partners who are also beneficiaries of the research: Women in Journalism the UK's preeminent organization for women practitioners; the Global Media Monitoring Project; the National Union of Journalists; Luba Kassova, a storyteller and the author of Missing Perspectives; and Natasha Turner, the global editor of ESG Clarity and Rebalance, the financial blog for women. It is intended that the findings will be of benefit to news practitioners, women economic experts, delegates at UN Women who are concerned with women's economic empowerment, media managing editors, media and economic policymakers, media educators and students, plus those responsible for internal media policy, HR and management at news organizations. These aims will be achieved through the following objectives to: Develop detailed accounts of the challenges women news practitioners and economic experts face in mediating economy and the degree to which these issues are gendered; Support practitioners to reflect on and explore their own and others' approaches to reporting economic gender inequalities in ways that might benefit other news practitioners, broaden economic discourse and support/enhance gender equality; Identify examples of good practice and indicate solutions to current barriers and challenges to mediating the economy; Work with key stakeholders to co-design and evaluate resources to support news practitioners and economic experts to promote gender equality in economic news; Work with Middlesex University (MDX) education specialists to develop teaching materials for media educators to benefit aspiring news practitioners; Implement an engagement strategy that maximises outcomes and impact for: news practitioners and news industries; economic experts; journalism and media educators and students; students of economics; economists; media managers; women experts; and policymakers; Build a network of academic and non-academic partnerships to develop this research and explore its applicability to other disciplinary areas, journalism beats, other sectors such as science where women are underrepresented, and beyond the UK to other regions/cultural contexts. For the Project Lead, development opportunities arise to: develop and broaden the Project Lead's research; develop new project management skills and existing networking skills; develop new skills creating pedagogical and video materials; and deepen relationships with partners.
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