International media Conference

Working within and against the Structures: Women, Media and Transnational Perspectives

February 28 - March 1, 2018

University of the Punjab, Lahore

Women's voices are often excluded, silenced and marginalized in the media output, as well as in settings and processes in media institutions. It is of pertinence to study how women in media and media education navigate between cultural regulations and their personal aspirations in their lives course choices, especially those related to education, employment, and family. How are they using the resources offered by their environment to enact their preferences? In doing so, to what extent do they have a chance to influence the very structures and representations of the media institutions?

The conference aimed to develop analyses of how women in the media organizations and in media education find their voices, channel them, modify them, and gain a measure of empowerment. It aimed to examine the representation of women in a variety of media output, in media organizations and media education institutions across cultures by focusing on the situation in a variety of countries. Did women in different geographic settings address similar concerns and/or come to parallel conclusions?  How were women adhering to their cultural backgrounds redefining their roles in society? We aimed to:

• See how women identified structural and social problems that limited their personal, social and political capacity to maneuver for their own interests as media practitioners and educationists. How a particular form of women's agency or efforts changed their circumstances according to their interests and concerns in their given contexts.

• Look into how much did they see themselves as isolated beings and how much did they see themselves as women who could work with other women and men in cooperation to make a difference in the lives of women (with special reference to social media dynamics.) 

• Explore how women were portrayed in the media as agents who were or could bring a change in structures and social practices. Were women portrayed as victims, stereotyped, being allowed individuality? Also as helping other women?  How did media portrayal played a role in gender subordination and struggles encountered by females? 

• Exchange ideas on how women together in the media institutions could exert power to determine their own life course events and transitions, and escape patriarchal norms.

Sessions of the Conference:

Session 1: Women and Marginalization (seeing themselves as restrained by structures)

The conference explored how gender norms, relations, and expectations affect their decisions and plans. May educated women working in media and media educational institutions, in their contexts represent an opportunity to diverge from normative paths and escape patriarchal norms? How to navigate between cultural constraints and personal aspirations? 

Session 2: Women as Actors within Structures (seeing themselves as agents)

Media women finding themselves as agents and as part of the structures can make a difference in the lives of other women. Looking into how sharing of experiences may shape the constitution of media organizations and education cultures and the sub-cultural struggles encountered by females. 

Session 3: Social Media and Women – a mixed blessing (agents and/or victims?)

In different campaigns on social media, we see how women share experiences of oppression, but also of resistance and solidarity. Social media harassment has become a much-shared experience for women who articulate themselves in the public sphere. Research and documentation on these experiences is needed, as are strategies to use social media for empowerment and rights.

Session 4: Varieties of Feminist Approaches to Media Representation (agents of diversity)

Post-colonial feminism, equity feminism; equal-but-different feminism; intersectionality (ethnicity, social class, etc.), all these approaches affect the analysis of media and gender. How does the interplay between gender, class, ethnicity or caste affect media representation? The elite/mass question is much focused in different regions of the world, not least with the rise of populism. How does that affect women in the media?

Session 5: Women in cooperation (seeing themselves as agents with others; good practices)

How much do women associate themselves with other women or men and perceive to bring a change in the lives of women with them. To what extent do women in the media represent the potential for changes in the lives of women? Do media represent women’s ability to see for themselves that they are actors shaping their own future? Studies demonstrating good media practices (both within the newsroom and in media representation) are welcome.

Venue: University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan

Organizers: Association of Media & Communication Academic Professionals (AMCAP)

Partnership: Journalism and Media International Center (JMIC), Norway & Oslomet University - Norway, Higher Education Commission - Pakistan, and ICS, University f the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.

Download Conference Book 2018 Here