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Shocking, stunning, horrifying, unmissable. Guardian report on female invisibility.

282 replies

Bidisha · 05/12/2011 00:00

The Guardian's Kira Cochrane has produced an exhaustive, serious and very informative, though devastating, study about the representation of women in all walks of life, from politics and the media to comedy. Full disclosure: I am quoted in it briefly. The article is the result of several months' study by a diverse group of researchers and gives a complete picture of just how strongly women are pushed out of the public frame - and how this impacts on girls and young women's sense of their own voices and possibilities.

I would urge anyone who cares about this to get onto the Guardian comment thread and talk, give your own experiences, encourage other women, participate positively and in solidarity. This is a hugely important article and it's all about us and our place and space. Don't let the derailers and trolls dominate!

Here's the article: www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/dec/04/why-british-public-life-dominated-men

OP posts:
AyeSmagic · 05/12/2011 09:26

Ah, but don't you know that if women aren't visible, it's because it's their choice not to be?

Another interesting article - Girls should learn about sexism "Dr Helen Wright, president of the Girls' Schools Association, said many men only paid lip service to beliefs in equality, and said girls should learn some men still hold old-fashioned views about women. ... Describing persistent sexism, she said: "You only have to scratch the surface of many successful men's beliefs to find they still think men are the breadwinners, and it is only the done thing to say they believe in equality."

Pantofino · 05/12/2011 09:16

Great article. You're right it is depressing!

somanymiles · 05/12/2011 06:07

Thanks for sharing this. Oh depressing.

chibi · 05/12/2011 05:45

ha ha i have been driving dh loco with this for some time. you would think that women were this teeny fringe group, like ginger zoroastrians, comprising only a demographic sliver

also re:quotas and 'quality not quantity' there is already a quota which has ALWAYS existed for (mainly white establishment) men and it's a bit disingenuous to pretend otherwise

Alicious · 05/12/2011 03:17

Read with interest, thanks for the link.

KateMiddIeton · 05/12/2011 00:47

I tweeted this article this afternoon for the #frothers. Good stuff.

kickassangel · 05/12/2011 00:26

Thank you for that - very good article & easy to read.

I find the idea that once women take up about 1/3 of 'spaces' in an industry, it's seen that they've done their bit. It's like the fact that women get away with talking for 1/3 of a conversation. Once they've done that, any more is seen as too pushy.