Dear reader,

Gender bias in media content can harm the development of democratic and peaceful societies – a reality that has been acknowledged and highlighted in recent years. Ina global context less than one out of four people represented in the news is a woman, and this proportion has remained unchanged during the last five years according to the Global Media Monitoring study from 2015. Myanmar is not a part of this particu- lar study but still well in line with the global trend according to available studies. In Myanmar media outlets, the majority of news sources are men, and their predomi- nance is particularly pronounced among experts and when it comes to “hard” topics, such as politics, security and economics.

Interestingly enough this gender imbalance is kept in a media environment where women now make up the majority of staff. Alongside men, women seem to be repro- ducing the gender imbalance and gender stereotypes in the content they produce. In order to make the voices of both men and women heard, there is an urgent need for awareness raising among media professionals on all levels. Gender sensitization activ- ities for journalist students and working journalists, as well as leadership and media owners is key.

The concept of gender is still quite unknown in Myanmar, and is often misunder- stood as a word only related to women. As human beings we rarely engage in some- thing that we don’t see the advantages of. This is why there won’t be an incentive for true change until gender equality is understood as equal rights and responsibilities for women and men, boys and girls. There’s a need for both logic and creative story tell- ing to explain how gender equality forms an integrated part of democracy, peace and development. The bottom line is the fact that gender equity is not a special interest – but an essential building block of democracy and prosperity.

Media outlets play an essential role in the promotion of gender equity and equality in the Myanmar society. This study is based on UNESCO’s gender indicators for media development, and aims to identify minimum standards to protect and promote gender equality within Myanmar’s media industry and to provide practical recommendations that could enhance the understanding of gender among media practitioners.

The data gathered through this survey and the analyses are expected to be used in strategizing the educational programme of the newly established Myanmar Journal- ism Institute (MJI) as well as to inform the media industry at large.

A first report mainly focused on Yangon was published in March 2015. In this report additional data from the regions of Kayin, Saggaing and Shan has been integrated to paint a fuller picture of the complex reality that forms the media in Myanmar.

Johan Romare

International Director, Fojo Media Institute