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NEW RESEARCH HAS found that just a third of voices on radio news and current affairs coverage across the country’s three main stations are female.
Research carried out by two academics has found that in one week two-thirds of the voices on news and current affairs coverage on RTÉ Radio One, Today FM and Newstalk were male.
Overall 33 per cent of voices on air during the seven day period were female with this falling to 26 per cent in the case of political shows.
The best shows for gender balance were Saturday with Claire Byrne and The Late Debate with Audrey Carville – both RTÉ.
“Women are under-represented on air in Ireland and indeed around the world. Women, who make up 51 per cent of the population, need to be part of these important conversations,” Dr Jane Suiter from the DCU School of Communications said.
As Research Director for the Women on Air group, Dr Suiter and her colleague Dr Anne O’Brien of NUI Maynooth, carried out the study in February of this year and acknowledged that the limited time means some findings, particularly for once-a-week shows, may be skewed.
But O’Brien said: “The fact that Claire Byrne and Audrey Carville’s shows can achieve parity calls into question the excuses proffered by others around the difficulty in sourcing willing women to go on the airwaves.”
Some of the other findings were:
The research has been welcomed by Women on Air which says it is a not for profit group which helps give female area experts the skills and confidence to do broadcast work on TV and radio.
The organisation’s chair, Caroline Erskine, added: “The presence of more women experts, too, in the media would present a more balanced picture of life and of women’s contribution to society, which would have a positive impact on public policies and attitudes, in general.”
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We must equality in everything, nonsense. The best person for the job, nothing more nothing less.
A third too many apart from Marian all the female presenters are dull & lacking in knowledge
I think most female presenters are crap- they like the sound of their own voices too much…
Yea, lets say we live in a perfect, fairly balanced, equal world. That still doesn’t mean more than a third of voices on the radio will be a woman.
Looking at Dail Eireann, I wouldn’t think it’s full of the best people for the job. Far too many political families with seats for no valid reason I can see. That’s an aside, regardless, you would be naive to think sexism is not alive and well in this country. Look no further than some of the comments here.
Looking at RTE television news is mostly female on my IPad in Oz!
I agree fully. Some good female presenters but too many sound like they are having a conversation with a friend over a coffee.
@Goebong. Are you joking? Marian is a rank amateur who can’t go five minutes without multiple “ehs”, “ums” and strange noises. Never mind that she won’t allow her guests to speak without constant interruption.
Bicbiro
The Dail is full of people who were best at the job of convincing people they are best for the job. The problem with equality is there is a difference between equality of outcome and equality of oppurtunity. The only fair system is equality of oppurtunity after that it’s whos best for the job. But Femenists and other sectarian groups seem to think they deserve equality of outcome that women should get jobs just because they are women to maintain Gender balance, And that is the sexisim at play here.
I think most male presenters are crap-they like the sound of thier own voices too much….
What do you all think about the Affirmative Action employment programme in action since 1989 in Northern Ireland? Do you think, with protestants holding all the key jobs and power at that time and likely to favour their own that just leaving it to chance would have worked? If it were definitely a fair and level process I would be glad to leave it to chance, but I don’t believe it is. I wonder why there is such resistance from some men to the very idea of a small bit of fairness? It is very strange given that there is little chance of men being toppled any time soon from their position of relative power compared to women at all levels of this society, so I don’t see why it is so threatening that it provokes such fear and anger.
No Fear or anger here I am Fully 100% in favour of equality. But equality is an absolute! You can not have “equality for women”, that is not equality we either all work towords a a fair and just world with human rights for all or we are all just fighting for our own privilage. Unfortunitly the feminist movement is doing just that.
3/5ths of the voices in my house are women…and there’s nothing myself and my small fella can do about it……..equality how are you!!!!
I don’t know what the feminist movement is? When you express a view that could be seen as male, nobody calls you part of the masculinist movement do they? The feminist movement is just a nasty put-down label in my view. I favour equality for all. This is an article about a particular thing – if it were an article about inequality that affected men, I would comment on that. I repeat that I favour equality for all.
I am just irritated that people are not able to understand power and the way it has always worked and that some people truly believe, even with our recent history in this country, that it is a level playing field, when clearly it is not. This should not be made into an anti-male or anti-female thing – it is about simple facts and fairness.
Another thing to say to you is that I absolutely do not fight for my own privilege – I often go against it in fact, seeking more fair treatment for a whole range of different people who are not like myself and have less fair treatment than I benefit from…
Wounder how many men are in this feminist movement. would be very hypocritical of them not to have at least 50% of them males
There are some amazing men in it (the Dalai Lama is a personal hero of mine), but it’s not exactly a card-issuing membership organisation.
I want to join the I.C.A.
Why does a man who claims to be a God King count as an expert on social justice?
@Francis “femenists (sic) and other sectarian groups”? Are you for real? When you learn how to spell the word, look up the meaning. Feminism is about equality. Just because it suits your chauvinist agenda to pretend it means something else doesn’t make it so.
That’s one third too many lol.
Not sure there Simon what movement you are talking about? If you mean the label for people who at any time express the view that they are in favour of equal rights for women and men in areas where that is possible, then I am sure if you want to take on that label yourself nobody will stop you. I am not sure you can call individual opinions a movement as such. What about the Masculinist movememt – since you seem to be speaking for men I could by the same token label you as a Masculinist – now would you like to be known as a Radical Masculinist, or perhaps a Fundamentalist Masculinist? How about a Hardcore Masculinist? However, since you want to maintain more than equal rights for men, perhaps that is not really the correct term!
Seriously though Simon, I am joking, as I am sure you are. After all, an exchange of views should stay friendly and respectful and I do of course respect your right to hold and express your point of view. Have a nice evening.
Hi I a women I’d like equity when it suites me … But I if like man to help me when I can’t cope
Quite right Goebong, Marian Finucane is the best presenter on Irish radio totally professional, very knowledgeable and keeps control of the guests.
Was in dunnes earlier, counted 43 women shopping and only 27 men. F**KING OUTRAGEOUSLY SEXIST!
The Journal covered that in a story yesterday. Don’t you worry, if there’s a story with a feminist angle the Journal will get it.
You do understand Kevin, don’t you, that feminism simply means equal ttreatment. Are you against that?
You do realise Michelle that unless male and female are represented in the work place 50 /50 its not seen as equal treatment.
While were on the subject of 50/50. . Where do i apply to get a job as the driver of a red bull mini or bettle. Have yet to see a bloke driving one of them .
Actually Michelle the word for that is equality. As the name suggests, feminism is focused on females. That’s why you don’t see them out there campaigning for fathers rights.
Michelle you’ll like this one…
How many feminists does it take to change a lightbulb? TEN – one to change the lightbulb and nine to form a supportive group for survivors of darkness! Red thumb your heart out.:)
Jobs should be allocated on ability not gender.
Most of the women on Irish radio are rubbish and I’d rather listen to the men any day. Most nurses are women, most pilots are men, does anyone really care? We don’t live in an equal world, but something’s balance out quite well. This is just another example of feminists having something to complain about.
Are you really a woman? Have you not thought about the different histories of men and women? Were your father and mother born equal? And you and your male/siblings/cousins/contemporaries?
Kate get real will you.
Well said, Louise Carroll.. You have made a validated point.
Validated by whom?
Louise, you say some things balance out quite well but at the end of the day if you are born a woman, statistically, you are much more likely to earn less money and to be a victim of sexual violence than if you are born a man. You don´t think that´s something to complain about? Do you think we are worth less? I don´t get how you can ask if anyone really cares. Surely you would want your daughter to start life with as many opportunites as your son?
I really don’t see the logic in having to have a certain percentage of either gender represented, surely the most important thing for the listener/viewer is how good a presenter is at their job? I feel the same about the gender quota debate in Dail Eireann, I don’t believe one should vote for a candidate based on gender, surely in all walks of life the only criteria should be a persons ability to do the job well.
The point is that if we take as a given that men and women are equal then we have to assume that there are variables skewing these statistics. Some variables might be that:
- there are less women in that particular profession (the reasons for which have to be examined separately)
- listeners prefer to listen to male voices (likewise the reasons for which have to be examined separately)
I don’t think that women are innately shitter at that job, but that reasons why they are not being given airtime in proportion to their male colleagues has to be looked at.
That’s nonsense, we should base equality on arbitrary terms and not strictly on the achievable virtues of skill and knowledge. We won’t have equality without first dividing everyone into sets and subsets based on happenstance.
Kate, that’s ridiculous, you don’t have a clue what you’re talking about. I know from working in the industry myself yeah the most of the people who organise and produce these shows behind the scenes are women. The ratio of women to men is higher..as for who’s presenting it..it has NOTHING to do with gender. If someone shows talent and ability as a presenter they get a chance. It just so happens that more men are showing promise and talent than women. The women of this industry are more commonly seen as the ones that produce what you listen to. This article is crap and the stats put together by hair arm pitted men haters.
WE ARE NOT EQUAL!!!! We will never be, we are brought up in different ways, we don’t think the same, we don’t act the same. There is no gender preferences when it comes to radio presenters…presenters are presenters because they are good at their job..if more men are better well that’s how things are.
Think of it this way Mary – it is absolutely the case that when you are moving from a society where women had really no say at all – good old Catholic Ireland, a male church, a male government – and where women used to have to leave their jobs when they got married not that long ago, then you have to consider the possibility that people from one group who have been in power will tend to employ and relate better with people like them. It can be an overt or an unwitting discrimination – indeed it is natural to human nature. This is the same whether you are talking about blacks in the states or women in Ireland, or Catholics in Northern Ireland. This was at one point in time the case for all Catholics (indeed Irish) people living on this island too! If you think this is not the case in Ireland today for women, I don’t know what to say.
There are real benefits, when more than 50% of the population in Ireland are women, in having the viewpoint of women involved in all of the decision-making that affects our lives so much. For example, if you lived in northern Ireland and catholics were 51%, how would you feel if the Government and media was made up of two thirds to three quarters of protestants? As in that case, when one group has been used to being in power and another group had not been used to being in power, then the situation may need more help. For example, in TV, if you had an 80% protestant workforce, and especially at management levels, would you expect they may, even unwittingly, have a bias towards employing other protestants or commissioning work from people they know and work that relates to their own cultural background?
So why does this matter? Do you have daughters? If so, what effect do you think it has on them, given that they are more than half of the population, to see everywhere they look that there are dramatically less women represented (this goes also for character on ads and TV programmes – this is documented – there is a default male character in most general ads unless there is a specifically female angle – that is simply because most animation people and commissioners of advertising are men and naturally they reflect their own experience.). So what do you want your daughter to perceive from the medium that we know will have such a strong impact on her life and forming her impression of her place in society?
The other thing is that, if the situation were reversed, I know for a fact that I would be embarrassed and would be looking for change and justice, rather than trying to stand in the way of what in the end is simple fairness.
Ah so women have the right to be whatever they want, so long as it’s what the feminist movement want them to be. Also your statement ” there are dramatically less women represented (this goes also for character on ads and TV programmes” Is blatently untrue. Most soaps, medical dramas and cop shows at the moment are female heavy.
“Ah so women have the right to be whatever they want, so long as it’s what the feminist movement want them to be.” As part of the feminist movement, I want women to be happy. If a woman wants to be a presenter, her gender shouldn’t hold her back. I want to live in a world where it’s just as socially acceptable for a woman to be a presenter while her husband stays home with a carer as vice versa.
You Do
It is documented that there are substantially more men than women represented on TV shows, films, adverts, etc, and particularly as main characters. You can easily prove this to yourself, if you so wish, by spending one night with a pen and paper watching RTE and noting a) total number of male and female characters in every ad or programme; b) genders of main character in the ad or programme. If you do this over a few days you should get a picture!
This site from an institute set up by actor Geena Davis has some interesting statistics on the more international film scene… http://www.seejane.org/
I think you should discuss that with some of the stay at home fathers I know, Francis. They’d very much disagree with you.
I am a stay at home dad and have never had any problems with that.
Then you’re very lucky. But simply because that’s your experience doesn’t make it universal.
Nor does your sample of convience make any other situation true.
Michelle I am assuming (maybe wrongly) that I am the Mary you are referring to? for a start I don’t see what religion has to do with this. There are Protestants living in the 26 counties who work with a majority of people who were in all probability raised Catholic, so what? As you mentioned me having daughters well I have one daughter who is a member of a choral society where most of the members are Protestant as she lives in West Cork & there is quite a high population of non-Catholics living there, I never hear her complaining about feeling in the minority or saying that she feels somehow different because of her religious upbringing, they give recitals in many Protestant Churches & it never bothers her in the slightest, also she is a nurse & the vast majority of nurses in her workplace are women, so what? I have a daughter-in-law who happens to be working in a male dominated industry & in fact she is the only female among around 20 employees, she know when she started her course in College that it was very much male dominated but she didn’t allow that to color her decision. I am very much in favor of equality in the workplace but that also means making sure employees are all treated equally and that means that nobody should given a job based on gender. Of course nobody should be NOT given a job based on gender either but it should really be a case of the best person for the job as regards ability & suitability. I can think of many different occupations where there seems to be a gender imbalance, be it either favoring men or women but I don’t think having quota systems is the way to go with this. There is a woman TD in my constituency & I’ve never actually heard anybody say anything about that fact one way or the other. If she is seen to be good at her job & if the public want to see the party she is a member of in power next time then I have no doubt she will be re-elected but if the opposite is the case then she will not . It will have nothing to do with the fact that she is a woman. Same with the 2 male Tds in this constituency I am sure.
Shit you not – 2 things:
1) I didn´t say that I think women should be hired because they are women. Nor did I say that I think radio stations are being sexist and not picking talented women. I said we should wonder why things are this way.
Maybe less women are going for the positions because growing up they always heard male voices on the radio and it wasn´t something they thought they could be doing (obviously many women will aim for what they want to do regardless, but it could be a factor. Likewise there could be men out there who would be amazing nurses and love their job, but never considered it was something they should aim for). It could be a self-perpetuating problem that could be changed.
Maybe being a consistent and regular voice on the radio, a Pat Kenny or Gay Byrne, is more difficult when you take maternity leave.
I don´t know. But I do think that when there is a gender imbalance we should ask why.
2) When you say we are not equal, does that mean that men are better than women at things? Or women and men are good at different things but have equal value and importance on this earth? Or that one sex is more important?
DEFINITION OF EQUAL
1. as great as; the same as (often followed by to or with ): The velocity of sound is not equal to that of light.
2. like or alike in quantity, degree, value, etc.; of the same rank, ability, merit, etc.: two students of equal brilliance.
Men and women are (and this is a fact, not a matter of opinion), equally as worthwhile, competent, intelligent and valuable as well as equally as cruel, petty, selfish, thoughtless as each other. We are all humans. Our genitalia doesn´t change our value.
I agree that men and women are DIFFERENT, but I also think that two men can be as different as women and men, and the same with two women. I don´t know if you are confusing words or you just sexist.
Sorry Mary, that northern Ireland bit was purely an example (I have no issues with religion in Northern Ireland whatsoever!) of when one group has had more power, there may need to be some thought given as to how that power situation can be changed and acknowledgement that it is not a level playing field.
I agree it should be the best person for the job that gets appointed – if only that were the case.
You mention also the fact that some job areas have more women working in them – well yes but I guess you are well aware that these tend to be very low paid jobs. All I can say Mary is that it is well documented that women are extremely under-represented in management and decision-making roles and that they have lower incomes than men, even for the same kind of work. I don’t know if you think that is OK or if you think it is because women are just less smart, less capable, not able to be managers or whatever, but I do not think that, so I wonder what the reason is.
It’s demand driven. Consumers choice.
Maybe not as many women want to work in radio? Just because there are more women nurses doesn’t mean there’s something wrong. Its just how it goes.
There must be way more female nuns than male nuns in this country… Needs to be sorted out, farse
Shirley temple bar presented telly bingo, but some dude replaced her, it was very sexist
I think we need to explain something to you about shirly. You best sit down.
Shirley you can’t be serious?….it was coming!
Always uproar from women about the lack of females on radio, tv and in politics yet the stats have recently proven to show that only a small percentage of women actually apply for these positions in the first place so naturally men are going to have the majority! Simple maths..nothing got to do with sexism
As a teenage girl wishing to make a career in radio, this is slightly disheartening.
Well, take heart from the success of the likes of Marian Finucane, Miriam O’Callaghan, Aine Lawlor , Valerie Cox and other women on RTE. The bar is set pretty low for you. Just think to yourself ‘if they can do it anybody can do it’. Marian Finucane for example: ‘I read a newspaper this morning. What did you read? Any ideas?’ Very easy to emulate. You can practice it at home into a tape recorder (maybe get a neighbour in to act out the part of the ‘special guest’. Assure them that their contribution doesnt have to be up to much either). Best of luck with your career in being vacuous, melodramatising or generally hectoring interviewees with little or no apparent purpose other than shoring up RTE’s ideology of the week (though it may be some time before RTE sheds this dross and are in a position to offer you what they, in a somewhat questionable use of the word, refer to as ‘work’)
Just be good. Being female doesn’t matter
Take inspiration from the long line of fabulous women journalists such as Kate Adie, Kirsty Wark, Joan Bakewell, Louise Botting, Anna Ford, Orla Guerin, Moira Stuart, Laura Kuenssberg, Caroline Wyatt, Sue Lloyd-Roberts and Alex Crawford, and hundreds more – it shows that in a society that respects women more those women will not end up getting shoved into the irritating, chatty presenter kind of roles that people are complaining about here, but will be in more serious and responsible roles, where they excel.
I would be extremely interested for someone to project listenership figures for a radio station that had it the other way round – with 70% female and 30% male presenters. Are there any of these radio stations worldwide?? I may be wrong, but I think that listener figures would be extremely low.
Whats the breakdown in the Journal?
If I wanted to hear a female drone on and on with inane drivil I’d go home.
Is the pro-feminist and pro-immigration guff of the Journal ever going to end or be balanced with the altenative view ?
Who cares about the gender of someone reading the news. You might have a preference of the gender of your gynaecologist or midwife but your news reader? Really?
How did that make you feel Mary? Right, right, yeah, yeah, mmhmm mmhmm are ya serious?
What I don’t understand is how this survey can’t reference the ability of the employed in radio. How can you tell how many women apply for the jobs available and how many were best for the job. Doesn’t equality suggest that you hire the best person for the job? It’s a bit of a sensationalist survey, doesn’t have all the facts.
What strikes me as odd, is that there is a group that monitors air time; staffed by people with doctorates.
Most national school teachers are women…. No complaints there… Time to get a life people plus Claire will be off the air as she’s having a babee … Now if only males could have babees ….
It could be the screech factor- Marian F, Miriam O’Cal etc., can tend to give you migraines with the high notes they reach.
BBC does a better job with interesting (and sexy) female voices suited to radio. Irish presenters either sound like your mother or schoolteachers.
Suppose we should get quotas in? But you never hear it when it goes the other way!!
So what if there are 2 thirds more men than women broadcasting on the radio? There are 100% more women than men giving birth but you don’t hear the men complaining?
Oh gawd here we go again, theres a third of women on radio because theres a third of women on radio! Ask the third how they got there and I’m sure they’ll say hard work, bit a luck an perseverance!
Same as the 66% of males would say! A significant amount of women population are not interested in talk radio at a guess, get the exact stats an I’m sure one figure will compliment the other!
It’s actually counter productive an somewhat insulting to the women who are already doing a fine job in radio these kinda sh1t stirring stats!
Dam feminists
Needs to change!
No no
Debi- Im sorry but no it does not need to change ,it needs to be the best person for the job,simple. what needs to change is your attitude towards the situation of which there is none and then maybe these pointless articles wont be written.
haha.. look i just copied her post back in, and it says it all ..
Debi-Nikita Rathbone-Rentzke
10 hours ago # 155 38
Needs to change!
Gave you a green thumb for that one Simon…:-)
Actually it does Ian. The Media has been dominated by the male species for too long. And yes, you are correct on saying that the best person should be employed for the job.. But at the same token there should be parity across the board.. I’ve heard a lot a male radio presenters on the radio and some of them need a personality!
Species………
Gender defines your species now apparently
Debi , If that is how you feel about a number of male presenter thats your opinion, In fact I find a number of them boring aswell and in need of a personality . But in saying that this article is as arbitrary as saying there is 2/3 of men employed over women in the pharmaceutical sector. I dont know the actual figures.
But to understand that you would need to study the amount of people training in that sector at uni and all these other factors and you may well find out that more men are training/trained in that specific sector so obviously more men will be chosen.. Its not always black and white sexism. I dont agree with sexism at all but these articles stir up so much waffle that it a a joke just to get a reaction. So its not a go at you but more the people who manufacture these stats without full analysis and feed them to the public who crib and moan about literally nothing, because there not giving full story and just waiting for a reaction. I must admit Joseph Goebbels would be happy that Propaganda is still working well
glad this article written by a male – those bimbos at The Journal are seriously lacking in brains!
Research has shown that people prefer to listen to the more bass/baritone tones of a mans voice than the higher pitched tone of women.
The best women broadcasters speak on a lower register. Many even get their voices trained to this end.
We just need more women with slightly deeper voices who can carry out the job to a high standard
It’s a man’s world
In the interest of gender balance on the journal. Hugh you’re really hot. It just isn’t fair it’s only the female journalists who get hit on in the comments. xx
I actually see both sides of the argument here. I can understand people’s frustration with the perception that the right candidate will be overlooked because he’s male, with quotas in place, and I understand people’s frustration with it never being pointed out that some professions are dominated by women. Ironically in any media outlet I have worked in, the general staff has been dominated by women, so sales, admin etc etc is usually very much populated by females. However I can also see the need and logic for more women to be represented in positions of influence. Politics and media broadcasting are two of a few of those powerful platforms and in any functioning society we’d be better placed by having equal representation.
You go girl!
Mature as ever mr jingles!
Great to see the Irish men stand up to the extreme feminists!
Do you even know what feminism is about? Equal opportunities for both sexes. I would think extreme feminism is an oxymoron. If you are referring to extremely disparagement of males it’s chauvinism plain and simple, not feminism. And the article certainly isn’t chauvinist.
Feminism… fighing for equality of two genders by trying focusing on ine of them… coming soon to a cinema near you.
You should tell that to such feminists as Patrick Stewart, Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama.
I will!
Going over old ground there Nick.
Remember our Star Trek episode?
The one where you said you knew nothing about Patrick Stewart? Yep. Not sure why that’s relevant, but if Rísteard’s point is that feminists don’t care about men, I think Nelson Mandela is a pretty good example of one who does quite a lot for them, actually.
Extreme feminists!?! You sad old thing – I don’t know if you’re male, female or transgender, but you are truly sad – and not even amusing.
To Harry Webb. This thing of coming out miles above or below the comment you are replying to is very annoying. Can you do anything about this, Journal?
So he’s a mens rights activist in parallel. Whats your point. It doesnt invalidate my statement.
Women have more rights than men so its time these silly womens groups put a sock in it.most women cannot do as good a job as men & thats why they are paid less.one example is every building you see was it men or women that built them? Cry me a river ladies.
Unfortunately, most of the women on air have shrill, nagging voices and it makes people check out asap.
The majority of construction workers in this country are males.
The majority of crèche workers are female.
The majority of engineers are males.
The majority of midwives are female.
So bloody what. If there are more men applying for jobs on the radio then the chances are there will be more men working in that profession.
Is that not the case where on average men simply interest more / know better about current affairs and politics than women? I am sure there is probably more female presenters in fashion talk channels or i.e, family affairs, etc.
I take it you are trying to be amusing!!! If not, you should think about the female company you pick! All of the women I know are much more interested in current affairs and politics than their partners, who tend to be more into sport!!! Do you not think it is something to do with this country and the whole male Catholic ethos with a particular view of women that our female journalists end up in some of the roles they do? Look at the many serious and brilliant current affairs and economic TV reporters in the UK – here is a fraction of what are hundreds of them: Kate Adie, Orla Guerin, Kirsty Wark, Joan Bakewell, Louise Botting, Anna Ford, Laura Kuenssberg, Moira Stuart, Fiona Bruce, Caroline Wyatt, Sue Lloyd-Roberts, Alex Crawford… Perhaps they have a different view of women and what they are capable of.
Michelle you know loads of names, but you don’t know what “on average” means though.
And out of them 100 percent have that ridiculous D4/ RTE accent. Who are the Goredee?
23 out of 166 TDs are women – just under 14%. 26% of the politicians’ voices on air are female. So if you’re a female TD, you’re almost twice as likely to get yourself on air than your male colleague. Hardly shows broadcaster bias against women.
Emily there will never be equal percentage of male and female in the workplace. Gender shouldn’t be even brought into this. It all should come down to who is best for the job.
I think we can all agree that “who is best for the job” does not even remotely come into the picture for TDs.
I’m all for gender quotas. Gimmie a 50/50 split in every possible occupation and ill be happy.
Seriously. This is pathetic, the majority of us wouldn’t have cared or even noticed those statistics had they not appeared here.
This is actually not about broadcasters, it’s about the people broadcasters have on as guests and experts.
Well said Louise.
More balance would be better, but I think a lot of presenters interrupt too much instead of letting the guest make their point or tell their story. We don’t need to hear the presenters opinion, that’s not their job.
Not a question of equal rights but who is best for the job.
Of course it is a question of equal rights. The revelation that women are underrepresented in various professions should prompt questions like; why was this allowed to happen? It should make us look at the processes that underpin these stats.
Instead we get the trumpeting of ‘best person for the job’, and on we go and little changes.
Look at the bigger picture people.
What is the bigger picture Jean? Ignoring the best person for a job because it might upset the gender balance? I’m not sure if you see the bigger picture yourself.
The feminists just don’t get it…in Australia we had Julia Gillard as Prime Minister. She got kicked out by her own party because the people were fed up with her lack of skills…Thank God she has gone…There are no tears over here!
Peace for All, the big picture is that women are under represented in all walks of professional life. This to me points to a problem that cannot be solved by banging on about the best people in jobs. My point is that what we should be discussing is why this is the case.
I guarantee you that if men were under represented to this extent we would be talking about little else.
Are you willing to undermine merit over idealistic gender balance though?
We are discussing why its the case, but there are only either empty rhetoric about 50/50 gender balance in all walks of life (impossible) and merit, which I will admit is very subjective.
Creating false buffers in life doesn’t add anything.
If a woman is willing to do the job, and is good at it, who cares if shes a woman? She’s just a person who is good at the job and deserves it. Imagine a scenario where a woman didn’t get the job because an organisation had a gender balance policy and some lacky man got the job while the qualified woman didn’t just because they had to adhere to gender theory rather than whats in the best interests of the company.
The gender balance would be counterproductive in that scenario.
The problem with female radio presenters is that they decide they only need to cater for other women. Male presenters cover stories that affect all of us. That Sile Seoige was brutal and deserved to get the push. A typical show of hers would go “that was a harrowing tale of breast cancer, after the break, a harrowing tale of breast cancer”.
So you are not at all aware that female reporters in this country get shoved into these roles and given these stories to cover – it is not their choice. Look at the tradition of UK women reporters such as Kate Adie, Orla Guerin, Kirsty Wark, Joan Bakewell, Louise Botting, Anna Ford, Laura Kuenssberg, Moira Stuart, Fiona Bruce, Caroline Wyatt, Sue Lloyd-Roberts, Alex Crawford – to name but a few – and the serious news they cover. It is because there is more respect for women in that country and they are more forward looking, while we still have the priest-ridden, Catholic view of women lingering on in this country – and plenty of evidence on this thread for that view too. Unbelievable how some people can get so upset about the slightest comment about women being under-represented when they are so much the top dogs in every single way in this country.
Any job or position should be based on the merrit, experience and skill of the person applying for it, not simoly be given on the basis of one’s gender, or other minority status. That is the true meaning of equality.
Frankly, I’m shocked that there isn’t more outrage from women as a whole over the whole concept of being handed a job or position solely because she’s a woman, and not because of confidence that she’s the best candidate for the job.
Not that the more vocal extremists will ever admit to this. They’re more for being seen and heard than any real semblence of equality, nor can they ever be satisfied with the great steps that have been taken in gender equality so far.
There’s a concern that women who are the best for the job aren’t getting it simply because they’re women. I don’t know if this is necessarily the case (I’d need more in depth information), but I don’t think that men fundamentally are more expert in every area of expertise and so should be focused at a level of 2 to 1 – so other factors should be examined.
What other factors should be examined Nick?
How experts are chosen to appear on shows, the application process, statistics of applicants – and that’s just off the top of my head.
Nick
All application process are governed by the trade and equality laws. As for experts thats even simpler, The producer tells a researcher “We’re doing a peice on X for the tuesday morning slot. Get me an expert” The researcher then rings round till sombody says “I’m available Tuesday” and thats that.
Sounds like straightforward , who is relevant at the time and who is available so.
Non gender issue .. another one gone so !!
These studies are a bit silly aren’t they? I used to work as a diver, it was over 90% male because very few women chose to train. Now I work as a primary school teacher which is 90% female because very few men chose to train. Big deal? It’s about individual career choice and talent. We should focus on real incidences of sexism – like low percentage of women in top executive spots or practically non-existent percentage of separated men with equal access to their children – not repetitive career studies like these. OMG there are no male bra models!!!!
Yeah, but they talk 3 times as much.
I wonder what the gender balance is in shops like Boots?
It is the “barefoot in the kitchen where they belong” sop story again. Perhaps women in general should cop on that any position or rank is achievable through hard work, not whinging. The imbalance in RTE is understandable considering what we are having to put up with. Who, for heavens sake decided on the replacement for John Murray in the morning? The interviewing skills of that woman leaves a lot to be desired not to speak of her accent which is borderline speech impediment. The times the are a-changing, and so is my choice of radio. Unfortunately she seems to own half of RTE as she seems to be everywhere.
Women are capable of outperforming men in so many ways, if only the’d stop complaining and get on with things. If they feel suppressed or downtrodden in the work environment they have mostly themselves to blame. The “kitchen” days are long gone, accept it and take you rightful place in the work place, but only once you’ve earned it fair and square.
There is a highly disproportionate amount of men and lack of women working in collecting bins, cleaning our streets and sorting out rubish and recycling materials. Can we not try to balance the scales in these industries also?
Don’t be silly they might break a nail
Easy – pay them less. Unfortunately, jobs which are considered “women’s jobs” tend to be less highly paid still. Which is interesting – I’m not sure why our society values bankers over nurses and gives salaries accordingly!
Thats private sector vs public sector. Private sector values their.employees more financially csuse their gain is more motivated staff to make more money for the bank.
I’m gleaning from the comments that more women on the radio equates to less women listening to radio – which presumably would result in less advertising revenue and less radio generally…
And not one presenter from the traveller community, it’s a disgrace.
Equality of outcome. The panacea for those who lack talent or initiative.
So what?
Women should stick to what they are good at.the kitchen sink
My last word on all this feminist propaganda… bring the cave men back, and then we will have no more trouble!
And??
have your say