Nordic Talks Japan: Equality and the Media -Women in the News and Newsrooms -
The lack of equal representation — women’s voices, status, and expertise — in the news media continues to be a challenge. Representation and role models in the media matter as they have a wider impact on society as a whole. Freedom of speech cannot be fully realized without the opportunity to have both men's and women’s voices heard. Furthermore, does gender equality exist inside the newsrooms?
What does the lack of equality in news media mean for journalism and us as consumers of news media? How can the media address this issue in the news agenda, to better inform societies and overcome gender stereotypes?
On February 1st, Nordic Innovation House Tokyo, the 5 Nordic Embassies in Japan, and the Finnish Institute in Japan held a Nordic Talks Japan event to further discuss the topic. The event took place at the UNIVERSITY of CREATIVITY in Akasaka Biz Tower, Tokyo. We had around 50 participants at the venue and 200+ participants joining the discussion online.
A numeric approach is only a starting point
In her opening remarks, the Ambassador from Finland to Japan H.E. Tanja Jääskeläinen stated that the lack of equal representation in media is a global challenge. Often, financial experts are men, and child-raising experts are women. In the Nordics, the media has attempted to achieve equal representation by looking at the number of representations by each gender. This numeric approach is a starting point, but we should also be concerned about how each gender is featured in the media. How often do women appear as experts? As victims? The Ambassador also mentioned the importance of women having access to leadership positions in media companies, because in the end, it is the leaders who decide what to show on news. She encouraged us, through this Talk, to think of how we can all take action towards this, as “we should all have a role in this challenge.”
Media and societal support play a big role in gender equality
Moderator Mr. Daisuke Furuta, Journalist/Founder, media-collab, started off by asking the Nordic speakers why Nordic countries are successful in achieving gender equality, and what is the role of media for being so.
Ms. Thora Arnorsdottir, Managing editor, Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RÚV): “In Iceland when women started to fight for their rights, one of the first things they did was to found a paper. They needed their own media to spread the word. Gender equality progressed only in baby steps, but in the end, it was perseverance that won. There were 2 main turning points in the progress: the first one was in the 1980 and the 90s when Iceland’s progress in gender equality was internationally recognized and the people of Iceland felt proud about it. The second one was in 2000 when Iceland’s paternity leave came into action (9 months of parental leave would be divided between the parents, 3 months for the mother, 3 months for the father, and the remaining 3 months to be opened to share between them). This made companies stop thinking that hiring a woman is riskier than hiring a man because women and men now had the same responsibility to take a leave when having a baby.”
“The role of media is huge. Much has changed in the 25 years that I have worked in the media. Having equal representation in the newsroom is very important, but it is also important to have equal representation at the management level. We need both bottom-up pressure and top-down leadership to make the change we need.”
Ms. Anu Ubaud COO, United Imaginations, former Editor-in-Chief, Helsingin Sanomat (the largest subscription newspaper in the Nordics): “You can never emphasize the importance of the media too much. Societal supports — Child care, paternity leave, and legislation for all related support — are also very important in achieving gender equality. Constantly discussing these societal supports in the media is also crucial.”
Ms. Keiko Yamamoto Senior Manager, News Division, Nagoya station, Senior Commentator in charge of gender equality, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation): “The obstacle in Japan is that we only have 9.7 % female representation in the Diet. This lack of equal representation in politics is making Japan way behind the Nordics in gender equality in general.”
Having to choose between career and family is a “system failure”
Arnorsdottir: “It is the failure of the social system if women have to choose between pursuing their career or having a family. There are 3 issues to be addressed. First, the workplace is demanding too many working hours. Second, women have the leading role in housekeeping. Third, there is a lack of accessible and affordable daycare. The first point has to be tackled seriously, as the young generation is not interested in such a workplace. In order to have an attractive newsroom for younger employees, the working environment has to be diversified.”
Ubaud: “I feel there is fundamentally a great difference in the working culture between Japan and the Nordics. In the Nordic culture, working long hours is not appreciated. If you stay too long your efficiency will be questioned. Leaving the office at 5 pm to pick up your child is normal. Especially after the pandemic, we are talking more about people’s holistic happiness.”
Impact of having female decision makers in the newsroom
Yamamoto: “Now as I am promoted to a management position, I have more power to make the change. I keep telling young women in my workplace not to quit but to survive, then step by step we can make the change together. For example, now I am the editor-in-chief of the evening news, so I can decide which news will be shown as top news. When it is men dominated, it is often politics and economical issues that come to the top. But for me, I put childcare and harassment issues there because I care about them and I believe that they are important to society.
Ubaud: “It took 150 years for the Nordics to achieve the status now, but I don’t think it will take the same amount of time for Japan and the other countries working on this now. The influence of the media has grown, and it has the power to accelerate change.”
Arnorsdottir: “As nature, human beings don’t like changes. If we want to change something, we have to keep doing the change until it roots down as norms.”
The 30% wall
Ubaud: “When we look at statistics in Finland, many of the percentages showing the representation of women — company board members, and media representation — are staying at around 30%. 30% is a number that makes society feel that it is “enough” and that we are “doing good”. But it isn’t good unless we have 50%. Nordics are still humbled to do even better, which I think is a very important attitude.”
The role of men: Change for a happier society
After the panel discussion, we opened the room for questions from the audience. The first question came from a student who will start working at a broadcasting company in April. “Men only consist about one-third of the audience today. How can the media change the attitude of men, especially the older generation, and have them recognize this issue? ”
Arnorsdottir: “Good workers are happy workers. We need a holistic approach to this. A survey related to Iceland’s paternity leave shows that with paternity leave, fathers are happier, house labors are equally shared between mother and father, less divorces take place and father-children relations are better. So it’s not only our (women’s) fight, but is your(men’s) fight to gain the right to spend a decent amount of time with your family and child(ren), or on things that you enjoy that improve your quality of life. It’s all about having a choice. When younger generations act more towards the change and things become normalized, the older generation will gradually take the value in.”
Ubaud: “In order to make the change, you can’t just look at the established people. You have to look at the younger generation in the company in order to show them the path to change. This is what I, as a female leader, am always working on. Also, we need a diversity of people with different backgrounds on board because different people see different things. Having a diversified leadership is extremely important to make a change.”
Furuta also shared his experience when he moved from Asahi Shimbun to Buzzfeed. “The easiest way for Japanese people to recognize the lack of gender equality in media is to go abroad and look at what’s happening there. For me, it was when my onboard meeting with Buzzfeed in New York started with the value of diversity, that I realized the importance of the issue and how Japan was completely lacking awareness. I felt then, for the first time, the power of diversity.”
“Old-fashioned” companies with less diversity will be weeded out
The next question was raised by a female student: “I see that companies are only passively acting towards achieving gender equality. How can companies be more motivated, and what can be the role of the media?”
Yamamoto: “Penalty and quota can work.”
Arnorsdottir: “We as media should always be conscious not to interview the same and typical stereotypical experts. We have to keep in mind to feature a diversity of people. Our company, following BBC, conducted a training course for female specialists to have them prepared to be in media, and we found so many female experts that we didn’t know of (even in a small country like Iceland). Companies that can’t make the change to have diversity in their representation will be weeded out since the younger generation will not find such companies/media attractive.”
Ubaud added: “It is not true when people say there are no female experts. If you look for them, you will find them. Those companies who say they don’t have female experts are ones who are not looking for them.”
Changing the mindset of the older generation
Another question from a student: “How can we change the older generation’s mindset without offending them?”
Ubaud: “It is natural that the more change and development happens, the louder the voice against it becomes. There is always a group of people that don’t want the change. It is the role of the media to explain that change is necessary, but I think changes can happen despite of these offensive groups. Also, it is important to understand the history of their generation and try to understand them as well.”
Arnorsdottir: “When society changes, they will change too. We can’t wait for them to change.”
“Rock the boat” and “Disrupt”
For the closing remarks, Ambassador from Iceland to Japan, H.E.Stefán Haukur Jóhannesson delivered a strong message to the younger generation. “The role of media is significant because it does not only reflect but shapes society. I am an old bureaucrat in the 60s in a gray suit but I would like to talk about the role of men. Greater gender equality makes society happier. I had my youngest daughter in 1999, a year before the paternal leave act came into action in Iceland. I envy my son and son-in-law because they have more time to spend with their children. It’s not about offending anybody, it is all about creating a better society for everybody. Men are not only part of the problem but they are part of the solution. We need men to engage. One way to do so is to convince them that this is not only the right thing to do but the smart thing to do, as hard evidence shows that gender equality significantly contributes to economic growth. Japan has an enormous human capital of well-educated women that can contribute to the decreasing population. In the Nordics, it is well understood that good intentions are sometimes not enough. You need legislation and need a way to enforce good policies. Quotas and fines can work. As a message for the younger generation, “Rock the Boat” and “Disrupt!”
Thank you for reading to the end! You can also follow the whole discussion from the recording:
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