80% of producers say there aren’t enough women commenting on stories
Britain’s TV producers look to book more women for guest appearances, Westbourne Communications has found, with 80% saying not enough women are commenting on stories and 71.4% saying that audiences would like to see and hear more women in the media.
The ‘Out of the shadows, into the limelight’ report found that 60% of producers for broadcasters such as BBC, Sky News, Bloomberg and CNN feel under pressure to book more women, but find that booking female guests is far trickier than booking male guests.
When asked what obstacles they encountered when trying to book women to fill guest slots, answers from producers ranged from women being ‘reticent about touting themselves around, or talking on anything which isn’t 100% their area’ to ‘women take longer to be persuaded that their opinion is worth hearing.’
Emily Hamilton, head of press and profile management at Westbourne Communications, said: “These results show that although many women feel a glass ceiling for career progression exists, opportunities for them to boost their profile by appearing on the media have never been more plentiful.
“Professional women should seize these opportunities in much the same way that they seize other career-enhancing ventures.”
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Westbourne Communications
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