A special report on women’s under-representation in news media

Amid the global coronavirus pandemic, this report, examines women’s representation in COVID-19 newsgathering and news coverage in India, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, the U.K. and the U.S. The report uncovers a substantial bias towards men’s perspectives in both newsgathering and news coverage of the pandemic, spanning across all regions. This bias operates against a backdrop of women’s political underrepresentation in the COVID-19 response in these countries, as well as the unique socioeconomic, health and psychological challenges that women face globally.

The absence of women’s perspectives in COVID-19-related news coverage means that women have limited influence over the framing of the crisis in the news and consequently, limited influence over policy decisions.

The report was commissioned by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and authored by Luba Kassova, director of international audience strategy consultancy AKAS Ltd.