This article discusses the impact of women in the television industry as well as the issues that are experienced in the same industry. Just like in any other spheres, the essay will not fail to mention issues of gender stereotyping in the television industry, which is such a hot topic. For a long time, the society discriminated women because of their sexual orientation. That means that women were viewed as less significant in most fields. However, the article examines whether women have been up to task just like their male counterparts or perhaps better despite the experience they go through.
Just to provide some background information, an agency known as Skillset carried out the first ever employment census of the media industry. The agency requested vital information from each company in the sector that readily had the required data. The picture created by the analysis of the results was discouraging. The report revealed that women were considerably underrepresented across various aspects such as regions, nations, and occupational groups (Skillset, 2010). Additionally, the survey indicated that there were significantly low numbers of women working in senior sectors such as production. Also, there were low levels of women in the conventional male dominated fields such as sound, camera, and lighting in comparison to the traditional female areas such as hair and makeup and wardrobe and costume.
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To analyze the issue further, Skillset carried out a joint qualitative study with women who worked in the Film and Television industry, with the inclusion of interviews with opinion leaders as well as focus groups of women who were at different phases of their careers and family lives. The qualitative study was aimed at investigating the factors that influenced decisions at each stage and the forces that were making some women to quit the filming and television industry. In the findings of the study, most women said that some duties in the television industry seemingly were reserved for men (Skillset, 2010). For example, relatively few women were allowed to be directors or controllers of technical aspects of television companies such as camera or lighting. However, most women were given screen-appearance roles such as anchoring news or appearing in television episodes.
Indeed prejudices still do occur in the media industry. As previously stated, most television companies would want to feature women on their television screens so that they boost their viewership. And the most crucial factor is that the women must be good looking or else they are not hired, regardless of their education background or experience. A television company would rather hire a good-looking female anchor and forgo her education background or even values (Bromwich, Day, & Hoggard, 2015). Such moves have made many women to go through the struggle of trying to impress their employers. Many women have and still go through agonizing moments of putting on make-up and even changing their dress codes so that they attain the ideal image of a female presenter. In some extreme cases, some women have sought the services of cosmetic surgeons in attempt to appeal to their viewers.
Although many television companies still exclude women from the business side of the industry, there have been prominent women who have made a significant impact on the television industry. More remarkably, the perception of women as housewives changed. With more women enrolling in college and taking up various jobs such as police officers, doctors, journalists and lawyers, the roles of women in the film industry changed. That means that women actors were depicted acting in the capacities that had previously been reserved for men. It was the beginning of social change despite most television companies still being adamant to allow women to practice technical roles.
Nevertheless, in the 1970s, the women were assisted by the legal authorities in the US in their efforts to call for equal opportunities in the various television industries in which they worked. For instance, the decision by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to find out network hiring policies for women changed the legal landscape (Moseley, Wheatley, & Wood, 2016). Pressure from legal entities and the changing demographics of the audience provided opportunities for a women generation that would produce shows that depicted women in a broader variety of situations. It is essential to mention some of the women that have made an impact to the television industry. The first is Gertrude Berg who created a character known as Molly Goldberg which staged for more than thirty years. The show premiered on CBS and was even ranked among the top ten programs. That meant that the program boosted the viewership of CBS. As a result of the program, Berg won an Emmy award in 1951, which was also the first year when the acting awards were split unto male and female categories. Berg is such an important icon because she contributed to the recognition of female actors and female personalities. The also demonstrated that women could also develop better programs that would promote the interests of the television companies that would air them.
To conclude, it is not possible to discuss gender studies without investigating how women have been represented in various spheres such as the television industry. The television industry mainly reveals issues of prejudice and discrimination which is a vital aspect of gender studies. While women have severally proven that they can also perform technical tasks, most people in the society have not come to such a realization. It is only through ensuring that there is equality in the television industry that issues of gender discrimination will be conclusively addressed.
References
Bromwich, K., Day, E., & Hoggard, L. (2015). ‘99% of women working in the film and TV industries have experienced sexism’ . the Guardian . Retrieved 25 March 2018, from https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/sep/27/sexism-film-industry-stories
Moseley, R., Wheatley, H., & Wood, H. (Eds.). (2016). Television for Women: New Directions . Taylor & Francis.
Skillset, C. (2010). Women in the Creative Media Industries. London: Skillset. Google Scholar .
