ABOUT US

The Women’s Media Center strives to make women visible and powerful in the media. From our founding in 2005 by some of the best minds in the feminist movement and the media industry to our advocacy and media relations work today, we are part of a strong feminist tradition that seeks to hold the media accountable for presenting the world as we know it. Our mission is to assure that women and women’s experiences are reflected in the media just as women are present everywhere in the real world; that women are represented as local, national, and global sources for and subjects of the media; and that women media professionals have equal opportunities for employment and advancement.

Why does this matter?

Every day when women turn on the news, open the paper, or log on to the Internet, they see a world that, as shaped by the media, is missing something. What’s missing are the women: women reporters, women’s voices, and women stories. From the reporter’s desk to the executive suite, men are overwhelmingly the ones making the decision about what we see in the media. Our resources page links to numerous studies and surveys about this crisis in representation, but we feel that the critical stat is this: Women hold just 3 percent of so-called “clout” positions in the media. This dearth of women impacts everything from story selection to hiring practices. Without women decision makers in the news room, important stories too often go untold. Without women, our view of the world as shaped by the media is dangerously incomplete.

We believe that women’s voices and women’s stories are crucial components in creating a media that is truly reflective of our society.  Our mission is two-fold: First, we help women to participate at the highest levels of media, as reporters, sources, and savvy consumers. Second, we hold the media accountable for accurately representing the 51+ percent of the world that is female.

We help women to participate at the highest levels of media – as reporters, sources and consumers

Through our programs, we provide women with the tools and information they need to be agents of change in the media. We provide media training and outreach support to help amplify women’s voices. Through our relationships with both traditional and new media, we provide women with access to the decision makers in the news room, along with support in developing and executing a robust media strategy. And we’re building connections between women and the story tellers through programs like Women in Entertainment, Progressive Women’s Voices, and our Communications Desk.

At the same time, we serve as a platform and a sounding board to amplify women’s voices in the media. Our Web site, www.womensmediacenter.com showcases women’s voices and women’s stories every day. We help women to cultivate their voices and to share their stories through our exclusive content – content and stories which we then pitch to the online and traditional media. Meanwhile, our blog facilitates an ongoing discussion between women inside and outside of the media to talk about issues of representation.

Our Advocacy Work Holds the Media Accountable

The fact is, women are more than half of the population of the United States and the world, and the media should reflect this at every level through employment, story selection, and sources.

To that end, we help women to become savvy consumers of the media and advocates for change. We highlight important news of the day – whether from the mainstream media or from an international blog – through our daily news briefings. At the same time, we provide women with the opportunity to speak back. When we see a problem, we speak up – behind the scenes, through our contacts within the industry, or through campaigns that hold the media publicly accountable. Through our coalitions, the Women’s Media Center represent the interests of over 12 million women in the United States.

Our background and expertise

The Women’s Media Center joins a staff of media professionals with a board and advisory committees comprised of some of the country's leading journalists, academics, foundation leaders, and women in media.  We were founded in 2005 as a non-partisan, non-profit progressive women's media organization by the writers/activists Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem. 

Join Us

Through our Web site, programs and events, The Women’s Media Center is building a strong, dynamic community of women to speak up and change the face of the media. We can’t have a democracy without a fully participatory media – until women and minorities are at the table, the discussion is incomplete. Please join us.