Women in Maltese media make up just 16% of decision-making roles

A case study on Malta’s media industry has revealed women are discriminated 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 focused 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 stereotypes 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.”

“The newsroom is a very macho environment. If you survive it, you’ll survive anything”

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 stereotypical template was used when journalists report on men.

One woman, who works with a women’s organisation, discussed the persistence of negative stereotypes, and reporting on and portrayals of women in negative frames. She asked why positive stereotypes are not used more: “instead of calling protesting women ‘fluffy harridans’, report on them as ‘plucky, brave women’. After all, if the report was about men protesting they would be called ‘outspoken’.”

Another respondent working in a busy newsroom, expressed the view that there were “definitely differences 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 described 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 Mediterranean 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 commentary that “a man must have been behind it.” The implication, she noted, was that “women couldn’t have produced such a well-written or well-informed political statement.”

The social media sector might differ slightly, as one respondent said the sector can be more careful when it comes to the use of negative stereotypes, given the potential for immediate backlash.

Discrimination and harassment in the workplace

Five respondents working in newsrooms, social media, and gaming commented on issues with discrimination 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 promoted to decision-making positions despite the presence of capable women.

Another woman reported discriminatory 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 interest’ pieces.”

The sector is not free from harassment and bullying either. One respondent described her ‘shocking 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 editor would call to and refer to the female journalists in derogatory sexual terms. “

Other respondents said that the newsroom could be a very sexist 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 working in a different newsroom described a ‘healthier’ working environment: “When female employees reported sexual harassment, a disciplinary board was immediately set up.”

Most respondents had experienced sexual harassment at some point in their career. Respondents said it was ‘accepted that women accept sexual harassment as a ‘joke’, because it is a ‘friendly gesture’’, and that ‘it happens all the time’.

When it comes to violence in the workplace, the study reported that no respondent experienced violence in the workplace. However, the study made reference to Daphne Caruana Galizia’s recent murder.

Gender equality policies

Eight women reported that there were no formal gender equality policies or codes of practice documents in place, and one participant working in a large newsroom commented that “employees are governed by their collective agreement and by national legislation.”

When it comes to family-friendly policies in the workplace, respondents’ answers differed. One respondent, who worked in a newsroom, described the family-friendly, flexible attitudes that she encountered in a newsroom she had worked in when her daughter was younger.

In sharp contrast, another respondent, who worked in gaming, described how she was “asked to leave” her job because she was pregnant with her second daughter and had been in hospital.

The strongest statement on regulation came from a respondent representing a women’s organisation. She noted that “if we truly wish to have a media workforce that is gender equal, there is a need for better legislation; and there is no point in having legislation without enforcement.”

One woman suggested that “NGOs and prominent people need to speak out to help this awareness raising”, while another noted that “policies and mechanisms are needed to support equality and this will also support a culture shift.”

One participant working in a women’s organisation commented that “women bring to every area; they bring fresh ideas, emotion, a fresh perspective. And if gender balance is achieved in the media, women can aspire to become media workers, journalists, and so [there would be a] ripple effect.”

To bring better content we need to strive for more women in decision-making positions. As one newsroom journalist noted, different genders bring different viewpoints and different ways of being. She continued, “a female editor in a media organisation would also be a good reflection or mirror of society; and the stories tackled would be different, maybe even more human-oriented.”

A participant working for a women’s organisation commented that, “if greater equality in media content is achieved, viewers will have positive portrayals of gender and gender issues, and this would reflect a better understanding of broader gender issues.”