Several issues surrounding gender equality in Indian newsrooms were discussed at a session titled "Women Editors: Always the Bridesmaid," at an ongoing two-day international media forum here.
The panel for the session at The Media Rumble, organised by Newslaundry and Teamwork Arts comprised Shereen Bhan, Managing Editor at CNBC-TV18; Durga Raghunath, CEO (Digital) of The Indian Express; senior political journalist and presently Consulting Editor at The Indian Express Coomi Kapoor; and Maria A. Ressa, CEO and Executive Editor of Rappler and formerly CNN's bureau chief in Manila.
Conversations ranged from a unanimous voicing of the repeated and unwelcome emphasis on a woman's marital status, the need to rethink policies and benefits extended to women, as well as parities in compensation to male and female employees to which both Shereen and Maria observed the need for women to realise their worth and negotiate with the same tenacity that men do.
Coomi Kapoor, whose book "The Emergency: A Personal History" created quite some buzz in 2015, however, highlighted how women's representation in newsrooms has gone up since the 1970s.
She reminded the audience that during those days the only women one would see in newsrooms were the secretaries.
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The panel further discussed the blatant gender disparity still prevalent in the country's vast language media.
--IANS
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