Abstract
At our institute’s 2022 forum, we shared the results of the following three research we conducted in 2021 and 2022, on the issue of on-screen gender balance and representation; 1) meta data analysis of those who appeared in all television programs, 2) coding analysis of those who spoke or were quoted in major evening news programs, and 3) an online survey of 1000+ viewers. We reported the detailed results in the May 2022 issue. This article presents the discussion by the two guest speakers we invited to our 2022 forum on what the data from the research tells us. The record was edited for brevity and clarity.The guests were TANAKA Tohko, Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, the University of Tokyo (Professor of Otsuma Women’s University at the time) who was also an advisor to our research, and OGIUE Chiki, (Founder & Chief Director, Social Research Action CHIKI LAB).Both Tanaka and Ogiue pointed out that the lack of balance in the representation of men and women in television could be reinforcing gender stereotypes and bias in gender divisions of labor in real life, considering the imbalance found and repeated on-screen was beyond mere numbers; there were disparities in gender representation of age groups, roles within each program, titles and occupations, and especially in news programs—roles within each news item as well as whether the person interviewed or quoted were named or remained anonymous.Some opinions from online viewers expressed doubts about being “overly concerned” with gender balance, saying it could have negative effects on the quality of TV programs. In response, Ogiue suggested we may have been too “absent-minded” on this issue rather than overly-concerned—he pointed out the impact of stolen opportunities and lost possibilities due to gender bias.On the issue of whether television influences reality or is merely reflecting reality, Tanaka pointed out there is a cyclical interaction between what media projects and how reality is shaped, saying that we should aim to improve gender balance and diversity in both. Ogiue added that while broadcast media should self-examine how they represent gender in their output, the general public could also contribute to shaping the future of television as well as the society we live in, and for that, continued gathering and sharing of data would be crucial.
