Interview with Margaret Gallagher
by Marina Djukic
Marina Djukic: What is your prediction about the future in media gender equality? Are you optimistic?
Margaret Gallagher: The situation in media gender equality is not enviable, but some progress has happened since 1995 and the first GMMP. If it continues to change, we will need another 75 years for fair and balanced gender status in the media. It is a long term process.
Marina Djukic: Which are the practical solutions?
Margaret Gallagher: News organizations have policies and targets. Policies have to be changed, and this is one of the main GMMP goals. What we need is to change the way people think while asking if there is a women’s point of view. There is an excellent example in Sweden where monitoring of gender equality was successful and influenced editors to change news policies. Now, there are 44% of women in news interviews in Sweden in comparison to general GMMP 2005 which shows 25% of women who are making the news or being interviewed. That is a success and it has to go further.
