Thirty years after the Beijing Platform for Action, the Nordic summit\u202f \u201cWho Makes the News?\u201d\u202frevisits gender equality in news media, drawing on GMMP 2025 data to examine progress, stagnation, and the media\u2019s responsibility for more inclusive representation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On 5 February 2026, researchers, journalists, editors, policymakers, and civil society actors gathered in Copenhagen for the \u201cWho Makes the News?\u201d Nordic summit.\u202fAs discussions unfolded, the conversation repeatedly returned to a clear trajectory: After thirty years of monitoring, modest but steady early gains in women\u2019s visibility in the news were followed by a long period of stagnation once a basic level of representation had been reached \u2013 including in the Nordic region. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The conference built on findings from the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) 2025 and marked 30 years since the Beijing Platform for Action. The headline figure soon became clear: Of people seen, heard, or quoted in news globally, only\u202f26 per cent<\/strong> are women<\/strong>. For the Nordic countries, the concern lies not only in this figure itself, but in the trend behind it. After a period of improvement in the early 2000s, the curves flatten out rather than continuing upward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOnce the baseline of visibility was achieved, the motivation for fundamental structural change appears to have dissipated\u201d, <\/strong>noted Sarah Macharia, global coordinator of the GMMP. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the most striking insights to emerge was the way women are positioned within news stories. Across the Nordic region, women are more likely to appear as\u202fspokespersons or subjects, but far less likely to be represented as\u202fexperts, particularly in fields traditionally coded as male: economics, foreign affairs, and security. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n In Iceland, for instance, women make up a majority of higher education graduates, yet they constitute only a small fraction of quoted experts in news. This uncovering of role hierarchies within representation became a recurring theme. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Beyond the numerical findings, several speakers reflected on how changing cultural and technological conditions are reshaping journalistic practice. Editors,\u00a0researchers,\u00a0and civil society actors described how online harassment, organised anti-feminist networks,\u00a0and polarised public debate increasingly affect both newsroom decisions and the willingness of\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n During the editors\u2019 panel, concerns were raised about the personal cost of visibility, particularly for younger women journalists and sources, who are often exposed to disproportionate levels of hate and harassment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the same panel,\u202fAndrea Christiansen from KNR Greenland\u202foffered a powerful reflection on how Greenland has become a geopolitical focal point in international media coverage, while the lived experiences of people in Greenland are still treated as background to global strategy.\u202f <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n As the summit drew to a close, a shared conclusion emerged: Three decades of monitoring have made patterns of inequality unmistakably visible, but data alone has not been enough to change newsroom practices. Several speakers argued that future work must focus more directly on how research connects to editorial routines, leadership, and everyday decision-making. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n A shared conclusion across the summit was that three decades of data have clarified the problem, while the challenge now lies in achieving sustained change in newsroom practices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ulrika Facht, media analyst at Nordicom, presented the new factsheet \u201cGender balance and the 25 largest Nordic media companies\u201d.<\/em> Read the factsheet here.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thirty years after the Beijing Platform for Action, the Nordic summit\u202f \u201cWho Makes the News?\u201d\u202frevisits gender equality in news media, drawing on GMMP 2025 data to examine progress, stagnation, and the media\u2019s responsibility for more inclusive representation. ","protected":false},"featured_media":22628,"template":"","categories":[166],"class_list":["post-22627","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","categories-featured-articles"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWho Gets to Be an Expert?<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Culture and Technology Matters <\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Looking Forward<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Resources<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLm-3WLEqTMgQyO0oiI14kRIH1maAzK3ba<\/a>
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https:\/\/www.nordicom.gu.se\/en\/publications\/comparing-gender-and-media-equality-across-globe<\/a>
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https:\/\/www.nordicom.gu.se\/en\/publications\/making-change<\/a>
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