This Tuesday, May 5th, at 12:00pm pacific, Carol Jenkins, the Emmy award-winning producer, former news anchor and correspondent will discuss the under-representation of women in media. As President of the Women’s Media Center she has testified before the FCC and has written about what she calls The Invisible Majority—the 51 percent of the population (women) who occupy only 3 percent of "clout" positions in media.

Carol will be joined by Patricia DeGennaro, professor, political analyst, expert on US foreign policy, and WIP Contributor. She will discuss the women whose stories are not told, highlighting grassroots peace processes, and the importance of cultural understanding in places like Afghanistan, where she has spent a significant amount of time working as a former advisor to President Hamid Karzai.

At The WIP we believe the presence of women in media is critical to resolving such universal struggles as combating terrorism, ending wars, fighting global warming, and developing cures for illness and disease. Unfortunately in the news, only about 22% of the global voices you hear and read are from women. According to Carol Jenkins “The absence of women as op-ed writers is perhaps the most telling marker of the status of women in media.” She points out that the opinion pages of the leading newspapers in this country is where our most respected thought leaders both “impact public policy” and “drive our political process.”

One look at the numbers and the disparity is devastatingly clear. According to Washington Post ombudsman Deborah Howell, in 2008 fewer than 14% of the op-eds they published were written by women. In a study looking specifically at op-ed pieces written by academics, Rutgers University found that a startling 97% in the Wall Street Journal and 82% in The New York Times were written by men.

The WIP also believes that quality international news coverage from the voices of women is imperative for just and equitable global progress – their insight, solutions and critical commentary must be heard. Dedicated coverage of international news declines every year in the United States at a time when local stories around the globe have economic, social, environmental, and political consequences for us all.

Moises Naim, the editor of Foreign Policy magazine recently commented "It's ironic and paradoxical that at a time when we have a financial crisis that is global in nature, this country is fighting two wars, and the destinies of the population is more than ever linked to events that happen beyond the national borders of the United States, that the networks decide to cut back their foreign coverage." He also commented on the state of affairs in print where newspapers, facing huge economic challenges, are closing overseas bureaus. “And, when foreign policy is covered,” adds Patricia DeGennaro, “media outlets ask male political analysts to weigh in. Women experts remain out of the spotlight when it comes to anything remotely related to national security.”

In the past two years The WIP has provided a platform for both women's perspectives and international news reporting. Our writers continually remind us that when women’s voices are amplified, entire communities benefit. As President Obama pledges to support basic human rights in Afghanistan for all Afghans, including women and girls, Patricia notes “Afghan women continue to be absent from the discussion when it comes to their futures and the future of Afghanistan.”

While women’s fates are being negotiated on the foreign policy tables of those in power, it is now more critical than ever to work in partnership with prominent organizations like the Women’s Media Center to promote the value of women’s voices.

What better contribution can we all make than to bring women’s stories to the world through their own words? We believe the women of the world are more than qualified to tackle the key issues of peace-making, trade, war, economics, and culture. We are delighted to have the opportunity on Tuesday to promote women’s voices and give them a platform to be heard.

We are honored to be joined by such influential women for this global event.

Read the Archived Chat

Be sure to check out the incredible conversation in the archived version of this Community Chat!