January 2019  e-ISSN: 1857-8187  p-ISSN: 1857-8179

Research Article
Women’s Studies
GENDER INEQUALITY THROUGH THE Keywords: gender equality,
LENSES OF THE ALBANIAN MEDIA Albanian media, women status,
gender bias.

Joana Kosho “Aleksander Xhuvani” University. Elbasan. Albania.

Abstract
Media impact on the society is generally proved. The agenda setting theory describes the
power of news media to shape public opinion and to set the public agenda. News media is responsible not only to inform the
audience, but also to induct positive social behaviors through its socializing function. In this context, media has a strong impact on
women status in the society. Through her news reporting lenses, media can improve the status of the women, or decrease their
power, by creating new gender stereotypes and strengthening old ones. This paper examines the gender inequality in the Albanian
society and the mirroring effect of the women representation in the mainstream media. Using quantitative and qualitative methods
of data gathering, media monitoring, interviews and personal observations, it is necessary to explain the role and the impact of the
Albanian media in the frame of gender equality and women empowerment.

1. Introduction

―There is no chance of the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is
improved. It is not possible for a bird to fly on one wing.‖
̶ Swami Vivekananda

―I
am not asking for more money. I believe I am very well paid already. I simply want the
BBC to abide by the law and value men and women equally‖1, these are some of the
words of the ex-BBC journalist Carrie Gracie, taken from the open letter to the public
voiced at the beginning of this year. Carrie, a BBC correspondent in China and a 30 year
experienced journalist, has resigned from her role as China editor for the gigantic global media,
because she discovered that was paid 50% less than her male college that had the same job and
position as she had. Her resignation and her stance in front of gender injustice has been seen from
many women journalists, as an inspiring example of the women empowerment in the quest for
gender equality.

What we can learn from Carrie is that gender equality in and through the media is a
complex and multidimensional issue. Media does not only perpetuate gender stereotypes, but also
reinforce the gender gap that is still present in our postmodern society. How the mass media
represent women has a very powerful impact in the opinion making process - in the way the
people form and construct their opinions about gender roles in the everyday life.

1
C.Gracie, ―'Enough is enough‘: Carrie Gracie's letter on pay inequality in full‖, The Guardian, January 08, 2018.
Available: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/jan/08/carrie-gracie-letter-in-full. [Accessed: March 08, 2018].

Page | 10
Anglisticum Journal (IJLLIS), Volume: 8 | Issue: 1 |
January 2019  e-ISSN: 1857-8187  p-ISSN: 1857-8179

The media cannot be balanced and constructive toward the gender issues, if behind the scenes,
the women journalist are less paid or in a lower status than the men are.

How the media deals with the gender issues, is a model that reflects the way the society
stands for gender equality, reflects how the men see their wives and girlfriends, how the male
CEOs behave with the women employers or businesswomen partners, and how the women see
themselves according to confidence, success and trust. The right implementation of the women
role not only in the communication sector, but in every life‘s area, is crucial for the wellbeing of
the whole society.

Albania, as a country in the process of European Integration and in the process of building
its capacities to cope with human rights, media freedom, and gender equality, still needs to make
improvements in all this areas, especially in gender equality, strengthening its mechanism to
balance and soften gender gaps in salaries, social status and media‘s representation. According to
the last, but not the list, the environment of the media industry, the gender roles, their exposure in
the media and their public importance, has a major importance to be scrutinized, analyzed and
brought to the focus, with the main purpose to underline the areas that need improvement and the
parts that should subside.

The focus of this study is to shade light on the gender situation in the Albanian media
industries, looking at the way media represents women and exploring the women status behind the
lights of the mainstream media. Through consulting the latest studies and articles about gender
issues and my own media monitoring, I will attempt to describe how media broadcast on gender
roles can impact the women status in the Albanian society.

2. Methodology
The methodology used in this study is both quantitative and qualitative, including data
gathering from literature and previous studies in the field, personal monitoring of the media,
interviews, data analyzing and personal observations. The quantitative approach to the problem
was focused on the data gathering from surveys and statistics that showed the global situation of
the women in terms of gender equality and gender stereotypes, and the woman status in local level
(Albania). Media monitoring and data analyzing were necessary to describe the representation of
women in the media, with the key study: Albanian media. Interviews, data analyzing, personal
observation and synthesis of the data gathered were part of the qualitative approach to the
problem.

3. Still Talking about Gender (in)equality?

Before going in depth in the Albanian media environment in the context of gender equality and
media role, it is necessary to look at the issue in a global level: how is the woman seen, how is she
evaluated and what about the gender gap? The Global Report on the Status of Women in the News

Page | 11
Anglisticum Journal (IJLLIS), Volume: 8 | Issue: 1 |
January 2019  e-ISSN: 1857-8187  p-ISSN: 1857-8179

Media, of the International Women‘s Media Foundation, for the year 2011 2, stated that the gender
gap is a big problem worldwide, when researchers found that 73% of the top management jobs are
occupied by men compared to 27% occupied by women. According to this report, among the
ranks of reporters, men hold nearly two-thirds of the jobs, compared to 36% held by women.
However, among senior professionals, women are nearing parity with 41% of the newsgathering,
editing and writing jobs. The Global Report on the Status Women in the News Media had
examined more than 500 companies in nearly 60 countries and had shown that men occupy the
vast majority of the management jobs and news-gathering positions in most nations included in
this study.

The 2017 Gender Gap Index Report, reported that3: the gaps between women and men on
economic participation and political empowerment remain wide: only 58% of the economic
participation gap has been closed—a second consecutive year of reversed progress and the lowest
value measured by the Index since 2008—and about 23% of the political gap, unchanged since last
year against a long-term trend of slow but steady improvement.

In 2016, a newsroom survey from the American Society of News Editors found that about
a third of newsroom employees were women, as were 37 percent of newsroom supervisors.
Meanwhile, advocacy groups worldwide have spoken out against the news media‘s portrayal of
women and its over-reliance on male experts. The Women‘s Media Center, for example, released
an analysis in 2016 showing that most of the political analysts who appeared on CNN, FOX and
MSNBC to comment on the U.S. presidential election were men4.

In the study conducted by Policy Department C: Citizens‘ Rights and Constitutional

Affairs, for the European Parliament's Committee on Women‘s Rights and Gender Equality, the
key findings were not surprising (January, 2018)5. Although in the focus were important member
states like Austria, United Kingdom, or Sweden, with a high level of the implementation of the
human rights and with a substantive democracy, the study reveals that the European media
industries are still characterized by a significant gender pay gap, gender-based discrimination, and
sexual harassment.

2
International Women‘s Media Foundation, ―Global Report on the Status of Women in the News Media‖,
International Women‘s Media Foundation, IWMF, 2011.
Available: https://www.iwmf.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/IWMF-Global-Report.pdf [Accessed: March 05,
2018].
3
World Economic Forum, ―The Global Gender Gap Report 2017‖, The World Economic Forum, Insight Report,
2017. Available: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2017.pdf [Accessed: March 28, 2018].
4
D. M. Ordway, ―Women in news: A collection of research‖, Journalist‘s Resource, 2017.
Available at: https://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/news-media/women-in-news-female-journalists-research.
[Accessed: March 18, 2018]
5
European Parliament, ―Gender Equality in the Media Sector‖, Directorate General for Internal Policies, Women‘s
right and Gender Equality, Study, 2018.
Available at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=IPOL_STU(2018)596839.
[Accessed: March 23, 2018]

Page | 12
Anglisticum Journal (IJLLIS), Volume: 8 | Issue: 1 |
January 2019  e-ISSN: 1857-8187  p-ISSN: 1857-8179

Women are also under-represented in the workforce across media sectors, especially at
decision-making levels and in the governing bodies that influence media policy. According to data
from the European Institute for Gender Equality, in 2017, women accounted for only 35% of
CEOs and board members in public broadcasting companies across the EU-28 (from 0% in Poland
to 64.3% in Lithuania).

The figures for news reporting are better, but on average women still represent a minority
(40%) of news reporters across the 22 EU countries surveyed by the GMMP and are less likely to
be assigned to more prestigious ‗hard‘ news stories in areas such as economics (39%) and politics
(38%). A new study commissioned by the European Parliament also highlights a number of
concerns expressed by women working in the media industry, including discrimination in pay,
hiring, and promotion, lack of work-life balance measures, sexist working cultures, including
‗normalization‘ of sexual harassment and bullying, and the absence – or ineffective enforcement –
of codes of practice and regulations.

What is the gender equality situation in the Balkans? What are the gender norms in the
Western Balkans at regional and national level? The Helpdesk Report of the K4A (Knowledge,
evidence, and learning for development), conducted a study for the Gender norms in the Western
Balkans (Helpdesk Report, March 2017), where the main findings are6:

Women's political participation: All countries have a gender quota and there is quite strong
policy in place for women's representation, but this is not always adhered to. Participation is still
low, around 15-35 per cent. Women do not occupy decision-making or powerful positions. Serbia
has the highest proportion of women in parliament – 3 %. Training, mentoring and forming cross-
party women's groups have all been successful in increasing women‘s representation.

Violence against women and girls: VAWG is prevalent and legal protections and services
are weak. Domestic violence is perceived as a common problem in the region. Some of the
literature identifies violence against women and girls as connected to violent conflict.

Women and work: Women are formally employed much less than men. Traditional gender
roles prevail. The labor market is around 37 per cent women. Women earn less and do not occupy
high level positions.

4. Gender Gap in the Albanian Society

Since 1993, Albania is part of the Convention ―On the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women‖ (CEDAW), in order to prevent gender inequalities, as well as to
ensure wisely the protection of women from discrimination in higher levels.

6
E. Browne, ―Gender norms in the Western Balkans‖, Helpdesk Report, March 2017.
Available at: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/058%20Gender%20in%20the%20Balkans.pdf.
[Accessed: April 30, 2018].

Page | 13
Anglisticum Journal (IJLLIS), Volume: 8 | Issue: 1 |
January 2019  e-ISSN: 1857-8187  p-ISSN: 1857-8179

Other Albanian legal acts, as The Constitution of the Republic of Albania, the law no. 10
221/2010 ―On Protection from Discrimination‖, the law no. 9970/2008 ―On gender equality in the
society‖ etc., intend to protect women, to prevent gender discrimination and to ensure gender
equality7. Moreover, since the Global Leaders‘ Meeting, Albania adopted the National Strategy for
Gender Equality and Action Plan 2016–2020 in October 2016, with the aim to consolidate efforts
by all institutions to advance the goal of gender equality.

In line with Law No. 27/01/2014, AMA adopted the Broadcasting Code, which aims at
regulating the audio and visual activity, almost in all its range. The Albanian media is reflecting,
up to a certain extent, the problems that today concern the Albanian women, such as the
possibilities for education, employment, domestic violence, sexual harassment, etc8.

Although there are many laws and strategies for gender equality and on the protection from
discrimination, the reality of the women does not reflect much the legal and political perspective.
The women status in every dimension of social, economical and political life is not equal with the
men status. Neither numerically nor qualitatively, women are not engaged enough in important
positions in the media hierarchy, in the Government, in administration or in the academic
structures.

The gender situation in Albania is not so different from the Balkan or European states. The
annual study of INSTAT (Albanian Statistics Institute) for the Women and Men in Albania,
represents the roles held from both genders in the society. The main purpose of the publication is
to present sex disaggregated data aiming that all statistics should not only be collected, analyzed
and presented by sex, but should also reflect the gender issues of society, in order to monitor
policies in the context of achieving gender equality. The main findings are9:

Education: The number of graduates in tertiary education during 2016 was 31,500
students, and the ratio was 63.8% girls and 36.2% boys. Regarding the academic staff, it is
obvious that woman is dominant in the lower and middle cycle of education. Regarding the higher
education, the higher the title and degree the higher the number of men in the academic staff.
Meanwhile, the data from Rectorates of Public Universities indicate that there is only one female
Rector.

7
E. Osmanaj, ―Gender Equality-Legal Reality in Albania‖, European Journal of Social Sciences Education and
Research, Vol. 1, No. 1, May-August, pp. 268-273, 2014.
8
Audiovisual Media Authority, ―The Decision on Adopting the Audiovisual Media Authority Code of Broadcast‖,
AMA Decision, January 27, 2014. [Online].Available: http://ama.gov.al/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Broadcasting-
Code-of-AMA.pdf. [Accessed: May 02, 2018].
9
Albanian Institute of Statistics, ―Women and Men in Albania‖, INSTAT Report, 2017.
Available:http://www.instat.gov.al/media/2316/burrat_dhe_grat__ne_shqiperi_2017_libri.pdf [Accessed: May 07,
2018].

Page | 14
Anglisticum Journal (IJLLIS), Volume: 8 | Issue: 1 |
January 2019  e-ISSN: 1857-8187  p-ISSN: 1857-8179

Labor force participation: Considering the inactivity reasons, generally speaking women
remain outside of the labor force due to retirement and early retirement (40%), and the
engagement in domestic chores (21.5%). On the other hand, men‘s engagement in domestic chores
is only 1%. Referring to the age group 15-64, 42% of women are outside the labor force,
compared to 26% of men.

Employment and employment structure: Employment rate for the population of age group
15-64 is 62% for men and 50% for women. According to the employment structure, 43% of
women are employees, whereas 31.2% are contributing family workers compared to 18,2% of the
same category for men. A considerable number of employed men (38.3%) are own account
workers, as compared to 24.4% for women.

According to studies that compare the official statistics of the women employment, the
results show that a man in Albania in 2012/2013 had a 46% chance of being employed, while a
woman had a 22% chance. According to these values, a man in Albania was almost 2 times as
likely to be employed as a woman (46.1% compared with 22.2%)10.

Women participation in decision-making: As INSTAT stated (2017), from 2013 to 2016,

the increasing trend in the number of women and girls in parliament has continued due to the
replacement of men MPs with women MPs given the resignation of men from their mandates. Due
to this replacement, 24% of the Parliament in 2016 was composed of women. Among the eight
parliamentary commissions, the highest participation of women is in the ―Commission on Labor,
Social Affairs and Healthcare‖, with approximately 50%, whereby a series of laws and initiatives
affecting the economic empowerment and support of women through social policies are discussed.

5. The Representation of Women in the Albanian Media

As we explored the global/local reality of gender (in)equality, the social status of the
women, although with some improvements, still needs further support and evolution.

Media texts are perceived to be one of the prime cultural sites through which it is possible
to study the position of women in society. This is where our society presents itself publicly,
defines our identity for us, establishes the parameters of consensus and relegates what is perceived
as unconventional to the margins. Worldwide studies on the representation of women, based on a
variety of methodologies and of media (television, cinema, magazines, newspapers, radio,
advertising, computer games), suggest similar frameworks of gender discrimination. As Carolyn
M. Byerly and Karen Ross (2004) suggested in their co-edited book, women are mostly relegated
to the private sphere and to the emotional and sexual worlds11.

10
Th. G. Pereiro, ―The Determinants of Female Employment in Albania‖, presented at the 7th International Scientific
Conference ―Economic Policy and EU Integration‖, ‗A. Moisiu‘ University, Durrës, Albania, 2016.
11
K. Ross and C.M. Byerly, Eds., Women and Media: International Perspectives, Blackwell Publishing, 2014.

Page | 15
Anglisticum Journal (IJLLIS), Volume: 8 | Issue: 1 |
January 2019  e-ISSN: 1857-8187  p-ISSN: 1857-8179

In her study about women presentation in the Armenian media, Anna Davtyan-Gevorgyan,
underlines the role of the media in cresting stereotypes about men and women, shaping public
opinion in this context. As Davtyan-Gevorgyan argues, femininity is culturally and socially
constructed by the family, education, the public, and to a larger extent, the media. In this respect,
the long-term change in women‘s images in media could help change the perceptions and
stereotypes women face in a society12. So, it is widely accepted that mainstream media are social
agents that can shape and change how the societies deal with the issues of human rights and
gender equality.

According to Dasara Dizdari-Zeneli‘s analysis, Albania clearly falls among the countries
with a high media density, thus constituting an interesting case in terms of the relationship
between media and society seen through the lenses of major social changes that the country has
gone through over the recent decades13.

To understand the way the women are presented and represented in the media, it is very
important to rely in some of the most serious studies and media monitoring. The Women‘s
Network Equality in Decision Making with the support of National Endowment for Democracy,
has conducted a wide range monitoring of the Albanian media, focused on the study of the status
of women and girls in Media. This study had in focus media monitoring of the daily national and
local media during one month (1 June 2016 - 30 June 2016), including 10 TV channels, local and
national (News, Morning TV Shows and evening Talk Shows), 5 newspapers and 8 online media,
analyzing the women participation and portrayal in the Albanian Media, based on sources, guests,
hosts and topics.

The results of this monitoring show that14 60% of the women and girls dominate the
participation in media on morning broadcasting TV shows. The women percentage was composed
by: 73% women experts, 6% public figures and 9% youth. Women and girls speak about social,
education, culture, lifestyle and health. Men and boys speak about politics, economy, international
issues and infrastructure.

12
A. Davtyan-Gevorgyan, ―Women and Mass Media‖, Heinrich Böll Stiftung Foundation, Feminism and Gender
Democracy, 2016. Available at: http://www.feminism-boell.org/en/2016/04/08/women-and-mass-media. [Accessed:
April 12, 2018].
13
D. Dizdari-Zeneli, ―Issues related with Human Rights, Discrimination, and Gender Equality in the Albanian News
Media‖, United Nations Development Program, Albania, 2013.
Available at: http://www.al.undp.org/content/dam/albania/docs/Manual%20media%20english.pdf
[Accessed: April 25, 2018].
14
National Endowment for Democracy, ―Gender and Media in Albania‖, Women‘s Network Equality in Decision
Making, EDM, 2016.
Available at: http://www.platformagjinore.al/eng/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Media-Monitoring_Gender-and-
Media-in-Albania.pdf [Accessed: April 28, 2018].

Page | 16
Anglisticum Journal (IJLLIS), Volume: 8 | Issue: 1 |
January 2019  e-ISSN: 1857-8187  p-ISSN: 1857-8179

Men and boys (79%) dominate the expertise on evening broadcasting shows in Albanian
media. The 21% of the women and girls participating in evening talk shows is composed by 38%
of women experts, 50% of women politician and 12% others. Women and girls speak only 26% in
talk shows, when the men monopolize the conversation with 74%.

According to the sources of information, men and boys are dominating the TV news
sources during the evening broadcastings in the Albanian media. Only 12% of women and girls
are the focus of TV news stories, meanwhile men and boys are widely present with 55%.

What about the newspapers? Who dominates the headlines? The results of the study15
show that the large part of the first page stories are dominated from men and boys with 49% and
0% from the women and girls. Only 4% of the women are the source of the information of the
headlines and 49% are men and boys. The images of the first pages of the newspapers show
women and girls on 14% of the cases and 86% of the images have in focus men and boys. Who
speaks on the newspapers? Only 6% of the newspapers stories are focused on the women and girls
and 53% of them on men. The sources of the news are 6% women and 46% men, while 39% of
the journalists are women and girls and 61% men and boys.

Online media situation: According to the study of The Women‘s Network Equality in
Decision Making, only 6% of the online sources are women and girls, 33% are men and boys.
13% online media stories are about women and girls and 43% among them are about men.
According to the images in online media, 25% of them show women and girls, while men and
boys dominate the online media images with 75%.

Another study by Isida Hoxha, (Luigj Gurakuqi University), shows the discrimination of
the women in Albanian press. She monitored some the Albanian newspapers during October 2012
and the key findings were16:

First, the largest number of articles, published in newspapers, represented women with use
of existing stereotypes in Albanian society. The cases that media chose as news were those related
to accidents and deaths. The stereotypes created by society are strengthened by the way the media
discourse is structured.

Second, there were numerous articles that related to a symbolic women‘s representation. In
those articles, the women are not represented as victims, but as somebody‘s wives or somebody‘s
relatives. This symbolic role is seen in the discourses of political leaders as well.

15
Ibid.
16
I.Hoxha, ―The representation of the Woman in the Media Discourse in Albania‖, Journal of Social and Natural
Sciences, Volume 10, Issue 1, pp. 146-151, 2016.

Page | 17
Anglisticum Journal (IJLLIS), Volume: 8 | Issue: 1 |
January 2019  e-ISSN: 1857-8187  p-ISSN: 1857-8179

From a personal monitoring of the Albanian media, during the period of one month
(March-April, 2018), including some of the mainstream televisions, newspapers and online media
(TV: Top Channel, TV Klan, Ora News; Newspapers: Panorama, TemA, and Dita; online media:
360o and Lapsi.al), I concluded that only a small percentage of the stories were dedicated to
women and girls. The main political, economic and financial news had in the focus men and boys
rather than women and girls. Topics like lifestyle, gossip and cultural news had in focus more
women than men, but the women presented in this kind of news were sexualized and used as a tool
to attract the audience than promote their success or their expertise.

There was a slight difference between TV stations, newspapers and online media. The
main distributors of gender stereotypes were online portals, where titles as: ―Trump's old girlfriend
undressed, was covered with dollars: photos‖ (360o, 11 March 2018); ―Deputy‘s wife gets naked,
she gets all surprises for her statement‖ (360o, 12 March 2018); or ―The 30-years old obsessed to
sex: I was tempted to kill myself‖ (Lapsi.al, 15 March 2018); ―Five legends for the female
orgasm‖ (Lapsi.al, 19 March 2018), point to a disrespectful way of presenting women in the
media. But even televisions and newspapers had issues with the gender stereotypes and inequality.

6. Gender Bias in the Media: what can be done?

The media is a prism through which we see those in power. In many cases, media not only
reflects inequalities between men and women but also amplifies and entrenches them. With
women the focus of only 10% of news stories, the political sphere all too often features men
talking to men about men17. According to the Global Media Monitoring Project 2015, (GMMP),
which has been looking into the place of women in the news media every five years since 1995,
women are the focus of only 10% of news stories, comprise just 20% of experts or spokespeople
interviewed, and a mere 4% of news stories are deemed to challenge gender stereotypes. The
project found that only in Europe, women accounted for only a quarter of the people we see or
read about in the news18.

If there are more men than women in the media hierarchy and if we see more experts and
successful men than women through media, we are doomed to create a false perception about
gender role and generate more and more gender stereotypes.

17
J.Casserly, ―How the media can promote gender equality‖, The Guardian, Oct 26, 2016.
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/oct/26/more-hillary-less-donald-
how-the-media-can-promote-gender-equality. [Accessed: April 29, 2018].
18
Global Media Monitoring Project, ―Who Makes the News?‖, World Association for Christian Communication,
WACC, 2015.
http://cdn.agilitycms.com/who-makes-the-news/Imported/reports_2015/global/gmmp_global_report_en.pdf
[Accessed: April 30, 2018].

Page | 18
Anglisticum Journal (IJLLIS), Volume: 8 | Issue: 1 |
January 2019  e-ISSN: 1857-8187  p-ISSN: 1857-8179

As Josephine Casserly (BBC Media Action) expressed in one of her articles that19: “What
we see on-screen matters for what happens off-screen. There‘s no shortage of evidence
demonstrating that who we see in power influences how we see ourselves. When politics is
portrayed in the media as a man‘s game, it‘s no coincidence that progress towards women‘s equal
participation in politics is excruciatingly slow‖.

According to the Eurobarometer poll published in November 2017, a high number of

European citizens are aware of the gender inequality in their country or society. Over half (54%)
of all respondents to the poll felt that there is a problem with the way women are presented in the
media and advertising in their country. However, there were considerable differences, with the
figure ranging from 71% in France, 70% in Sweden and 69% in Spain to 22% in Bulgaria and
Latvia. Men were much less likely than women to say that there is a problem (48% vs 59%), and
even less likely to say that it needs to be addressed (33% vs 45%)20.

What can be done to improve gender equality and increase women empowerment?

In the practice briefing from the BBC Media Action‘s governance programming, Josephine
Casserly, argues that looking through a gender lens, media can amplify women‘s voices and
provide a platform for them to hold their leaders accountable. Moreover, it can put gender issues
on the political agenda and influence those in power to uphold women‘s rights.
Media can also challenge the norms which restrict women‘s role in public life,
empowering women to participate in their communities. There is a body of evidence which
demonstrates how media can challenge gender stereotypes among its audiences.

Valbona Sulçe (Kolgeci), in her study ―Equality starts in the media‖ (2015), underlines the
importance of the media in gender equality, reducing the gender stereotypes and evaluating the
women status in the society. According to Sulçe: If people will constantly see women portrayed as
victims of violence and not as successful models, they will consider the woman as inferior, as the
"fragile sex". If the audience will see that women discuss only about the kitchen, fashion and
children, it will be difficult to admit that women can be managers, directors, politicians, president,
police, and so on. What we consume from Media affects how society shapes the gender roles21.

In a personal interview with Valbona Sulçe, an expert in media issues and gender
stereotypes, has expressed her concern about the level of the awareness that media has about
gender equality.

19
J.Casserly, ―Turn up the volume: empowering women through media. Lessons from BBC Media Action‘s
governance programming‖, Practice Briefing 02, BBC Media Action, October, 2016.
20
R.Shreeves, ―Spotlight on gender equality in the media and digital sectors‖, European Parliamentary Research
Service Blog, March 7, 2018. https://epthinktank.eu/2018/03/07/spotlight-on-gender-equality-in-the-media-and-
digital-sectors. [Accessed: March 30, 2018]
21
V.Sulçe (Kolgeci), ―Equality Starts in the Media. A guide to a gender perspective reporting‖, USAID Assist Impact,
2015.

Page | 19
Anglisticum Journal (IJLLIS), Volume: 8 | Issue: 1 |
January 2019  e-ISSN: 1857-8187  p-ISSN: 1857-8179

Valbona has conducted many studies on gender equality and she found that: ―the women in
the media are badly-represented and under-represented‖. When asked about the link that exist
between media representation and society perceptions, Sulçe admits that such a connection is
strong and real. “If the media justifies the violent actions of a man against a woman with old
common codes, citizens receive the message that this kind of behavior is acceptable. Stereotypes
are still strong in society about women's status, gender roles, etc. It is the duty of the media to
challenge them and to show the change when it happens and how to make the change when it
delays,‖ – says Sulçe.

How to create more equality between genders? Colette Davidson, a senior journalist at
WAN-IFRA (World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers), recommends some rules or
guidelines to be taken into consideration creating gender balance in the newsroom, in the news and
TV shows. In her opinion, there are five strategies for creating gender equality in the media22:

1. Include news about and for women. This is not just about covering ―women‘s issues‖.
It‘s about making sure content is balanced across gender lines and respects the diversity that
represents nearly 50% of the world‘s population.

2. Make sure there is a strong commitment from management. Content alone can only do
so much to promote gender equality in the newsroom. If management isn‘t committed to
guaranteeing diversity, initiatives can quickly crumble. That‘s why a top-down approach is
essential.

3. Make sure women occupy all roles in the newsroom, including senior positions. No
matter how much content a media outlet publishes for and about women or how committed
management is to creating gender equality, if there isn‘t a physical representation of women in the
newsroom, having a balance is impossible. Not only that, women must be represented on all levels
– not simply filling low-level research or editorial roles.

4. Create pay equality. While some aspects of gender inequality can be abstract and
difficult to quantify, the gender pay gap is a pointer to inequalities taking place in the media.

5. Increase skills and leadership abilities through mentoring and development programs.
Ensuring that women have the confidence and skills they need to move up the job ladder is part
and parcel of creating gender equality in the newsroom. While talent and on-the-job experience
certainly helps, mentoring and development programs are a way for more experienced
professionals to boost the careers of women whose skills may not yet be fully realized.

22
C.Davidson, ―Five strategies for creating gender equality in the media‖, The Guardian, Jul 20, 2016. Available:
https://www.theguardian.com/media-network/2016/jul/20/five-strategies-creating-gender-equality-media.
[Accessed: April 18, 2018].

Page | 20
Anglisticum Journal (IJLLIS), Volume: 8 | Issue: 1 |
January 2019  e-ISSN: 1857-8187  p-ISSN: 1857-8179

Journalist, experts and the media‘s people can do so much more to respect and construct
the woman social status. As Sulçe expressed: ―Journalist should report on a gender perspective,
meaning to understand the differences between women and men, to leave behind the stereotypes
and the clichés, to focus more on the context and causes of the problems rather than the
consequences, to let go the sensation of the day, to be stand up for the dignity of women and girls,
respecting them and not considering them as objects. To continuously enrich the vocational
training with new research techniques that take into account the gender perspective‖23.

7. Conclusions

Studies show that media is used from the society as a mirror: you cannot be someone (or
do something) that you don‘t see. If the gender roles are not reflected in the media with a balanced
and objective tone, in a realistic and supportive approach, the citizens, the public opinion, the
audience will be misguided and uninformed, increasing in this way gender stereotypes, domestic
violence and women discrimination. If women‘s voices are not heard, decisions often fail to meet
their needs and may even serve to deepen gender inequality.Women empowerment is not a
feminism cause, but an important step in the evolution of our global society.

In a global level, data show that women are under-represented in media‘s content and the
decisions that affect their lives. Although many discussions, laws, programs and platform are
constructed to raise awareness on gender equality, to fight women misrepresentation and soften
gender pay gaps, still across the world, and across all media types, women remain significantly
underrepresented in the media workforce, particularly at decision-making levels. They remain less
visible overall in media content but, when present, their portrayals too often conform to sexist
tropes.

The official statistics show that the women in the Albanian society are underestimated,
underpaid and not represented accordingly in political and economical higher levels. Official data
reinforce the gender gap in the Albanian society. Considering the inactivity reasons, generally
speaking women remain outside of the labor force. Referring to the age group 15-64, 42% of
women are outside the labor force, compared to 26% of men, meanwhile the employment rate is
62 % for men and 50 % for women. In the newsrooms, women are not positioned in higher level
of the hierarchy and often are underpaid compared to men for the same job.

Women in the Albanian mainstream media are underrepresented, which falsely implies that
men are the cultural standard and women are unimportant or less valuable. Through many studies
and media monitoring, the key results show that men and women are portrayed in stereotypical
ways that reflect and sustain socially endorsed views of gender. Unfortunately, depictions of
relationships between men and women emphasize traditional roles and normalize violence against
women.
23
Personal interview with Valbona Sulçe Kolgeci, on April 28, 2018.

Page | 21
Anglisticum Journal (IJLLIS), Volume: 8 | Issue: 1 |
January 2019  e-ISSN: 1857-8187  p-ISSN: 1857-8179

The data gathered from mainstream media monitoring, only a small percentage of the
stories were dedicated to women and girls. The main political, economic and financial news had in
the focus men and boys rather than women and girls. Topics like lifestyle, gossip and cultural
news had in focus more women than men, but the women presented in this kind of news were
sexualized and used as a tool to attract the audience than promote their successes or their
expertise. Men and boys dominate the expertise on evening broadcasting shows and the headlines
in Albanian media. Women and girls speak only in talk shows, when the men monopolize the
conversation. According to the sources of information, men and boys are dominating the TV news
sources during the evening broadcastings and the newspapers stories in the Albanian media.

All the studies and monitoring showed that the link between women status in and through
media and the way society treats women is strong and impactful. All the data collected show that
the gender stereotyping in the media and advertising can propagate harmful attitudes about
masculinity and femininity, gender roles and the status of women in the society – this can
perpetuate discrimination, sexual objectification and gender-based violence. Limiting or positive
messages and role models conveyed in the media also matter because they influence both girls‘
and boys‘ perceptions of their own abilities and the directions they take in life.

The picture of Albanian society and gender roles through media lenses need to be
improved and differently represented. Not only law-makers or decision-makers, but also journalist
and media experts need to unite their efforts to balance gender roles and soften gender gap. More
responsibility needs to be asked from all the actors and factors in the mainstream media, about the
right representation of the women, without stereotypes and underestimation, but with a
wholehearted respect and accountability.

References
Albanian Institute of Statistics. (2017). Women and Men in Albania, INSTAT Report. Retrieved
from http://www.instat.gov.al/media/2316/burrat_dhe_grat__ne_shqiperi_2017_libri.pdf
Audiovisual Media Authority. (2014, January 14). The Decision on Adopting the Audiovisual
Media Authority Code of Broadcast, AMA Decision. Retrieved from http://ama.gov.al/wp-
content/uploads/2016/06/Broadcasting-Code-of-AMA.pdf.
Browne, E. (2017, March 17). Gender norms in the Western Balkans, Helpdesk Report. Retrieved
https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/058%20Gender%20in%20the%20Balka
ns.pdf
C. Gracie, (2018, January 08). 'Enough is enough‘: Carrie Gracie's letter on pay inequality in full‖,
The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/jan/08/carrie-gracie-
letter-in-full
Casserly, J. (2016, October 26). How the media can promote gender equality, The
Guardian.Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-
network/2016/oct/26/more-hillary-less-donald-how-the-media-can-promote-gender-equality

Page | 22
Anglisticum Journal (IJLLIS), Volume: 8 | Issue: 1 |
January 2019  e-ISSN: 1857-8187  p-ISSN: 1857-8179

Casserly, J. (2016, October). Turn up the volume: empowering women through media. Lessons
from BBC Media Action‘s governance programming, Practice Briefing 02, BBC Media
Action.
Retrieved from http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/mediaaction/pdf/practicebriefings/empowering-
women-through-media-report.pdf
Davidson, C. (2016, July 20). Five strategies for creating gender equality in the media‖, The
Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/media-network/2016/jul/20/five-
strategies-creating-gender-equality-media.
Davtyan-Gevorgyan, A. (2016). Women and Mass Media, Heinrich Böll Stiftung Foundation.
Retrieved from http://www.feminism-boell.org/en/2016/04/08/women-and-mass-media.
Dizdari-Zeneli, D. (2013). Issues related with Human Rights, Discrimination, and Gender Equality
in the Albanian News Media, United Nations Development Program, Albania. Retrieved from
http://www.al.undp.org/content/dam/albania/docs/Manual%20media%20english.pdf.
European Parliament. (2018). Gender Equality in the Media Sector, Directorate General for
Internal Policies. Retrieved from
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=IPOL_STU(2018)5968
39.
Global Media Monitoring Project. (2015). Who Makes the News?, World Association for
Christian Communication. Retrieved from http://cdn.agilitycms.com/who-makes-the-
news/Imported/reports_2015/global/gmmp_global_report_en.pdf
Hoxha, I. (2016). The representation of the Woman in the Media Discourse in Albania, Journal of
Social and Natural Sciences, 10, (1), 146-151.
International Women‘s Media Foundation. (2011). Global Report on the Status of Women in the
News Media, International Women‘s Media Foundation
Retrieved from https://www.iwmf.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/IWMF-Global-Report.pdf.
National Endowment for Democracy. (2016). Gender and Media in Albania, Women‘s Network
Equality in Decision Making. Retrieved from http://www.platformagjinore.al/eng/wp-
content/uploads/2016/08/Media-Monitoring_Gender-and-Media-in-Albania.pdf.
Ordway, D.M. (2017, March 17). Women in news: A collection of research, Journalist‟s
Resource, Retrieved from https://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/news-media/women-
in-news-female-journalists-research.
Osmanaj, E. (2014). Gender Equality–Legal Reality in Albania, European Journal of Social
Sciences Education and Research, 1, (1), 268-273.
Pereiro, Th. G. (2016). The Determinants of Female Employment in Albania‖, presented at the 7th
International Scientific Conference ―Economic Policy and EU Integration‖, ‗A. Moisiu‘
University, Durrës, Albania.
Ross K., Byerly C.M. (2004). Women and Media: International Perspectives, Blackwell
Publishing.
Shreeves, R. (2018, March 07). Spotlight on gender equality in the media and digital sectors,
European Parliamentary Research Service Blog.

Page | 23
Anglisticum Journal (IJLLIS), Volume: 8 | Issue: 1 |
January 2019  e-ISSN: 1857-8187  p-ISSN: 1857-8179

Retrieved from https://epthinktank.eu/2018/03/07/spotlight-on-gender-equality-in-the-media-

and-digital-sectors/.
Sulçe (Kolgeci), V. (2015). Equality Starts in the Media. A guide to a gender perspective
reporting, USAID Assist Impact.
World Economic Forum. (2017). The Global Gender Gap Report 2017‖, The World Economic
Forum, Insight Report, 2017.
Retrieved from http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2017.pdf.

Page | 24
Anglisticum Journal (IJLLIS), Volume: 8 | Issue: 1 |