Women's rights

The Arcom report takes stock of the nature of TV channels' media coverage of gender-based and sexual violence in 2024.

Arcom report on television treatment of sexist and sexual violence in news programmes in 2024

To mark the launch of the 11th edition of the "Sport Féminin Toujours" campaign, Arcom has published a study on the representation of women in the media during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, aimed at assessing the extent of the advances enabled by the event and identifying the efforts that still need to be made.

The place of women in audiovisual and digital media during the Paris 2024 Gaming Games

The Arcom report puts the development in the representation of women on television and radio from 2016 to 2023 into perspective, revealing significant progress in terms of women's presence on set, but speaking time balances that are struggling to evolve.

• The representation of women on television and radio - Report on fiscal year 2023

Arcom has published its report on the representation of women on television and radio. The 2022 report reveals quantitative progress in terms of women's presence, but stagnation in terms of speaking time.

• The representation of women on television and radio - Report on fiscal year 2022

In line with the results recorded in 2019, the proportion of female on-air presenters - TV and radio combined - has stabilized at 41% (compared with 59% of men). While radio stations are marking time (39%, or -1 point compared to 2019), TV stations are showing an increase (43%, or +1 point compared to 2019) and are continuing to move closer to parity.

The fact remains, however, thatwomen still express themselves less than men in the same number of appearances. The percentage of speaking time given to women throughout the airwaves - TV and radio combined - as measured automatically by INA, is lower than the presence percentage and is relatively stable compared to 2019 (35%).

2020 report on the representation of women on television and radio.

Arcom has conducted a study to determine whether inequalities in the representation of women and men in the audiovisual media have worsened during the crisis linked to the Covid-19 epidemic.

In its latest report on the " Representation of women on television and radio ", the French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication noted that the place of women in the audiovisual media had continued to improve in 2019, while still being far from a faithful reflection of the reality of French society. This issue was particularly acute during the crisis linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, given the important role played by the news media and the rise in their audiences. Some of the publications issued during this period even provoked debate.

Arcom has carried out a study, based on data it has collected, with the aim of determining, on the basis of a panel of programs, whether inequalities in the representation of women and men in the audiovisual media have increased during this crisis, as they have in the rest of society.

Report on the representation of women in the audiovisual media during the Covid-19 epidemic

As it does every year, the French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication publishes its report on the representation of women on television and radio. The 2019 exercise, carried out in collaboration with INA, reveals an improvement in the presence of women on the airwaves, particularly on the radio.

Has the warning issued by the French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication borne fruit? In its 2019 report on the representation of women in the audiovisual media, Arcom notes progress, particularly on radio.

The 2019 report notes that, for the first time, the proportion of female on-air presenters -TV and radio combined- exceeds the 40% mark (41% vs. 59% men). This represents a 2-point increase on 2018.

Between television and radio, the observation had until now been established: the former media always presented more women on its airwaves than the latter.

Arcom's latest findings show that this gap is closing as, for the first time, the share of women on radio reaches the 40% mark (+3 points on 2018), while the same share on TV remains stable (42%).

Representation of women on television and radio - Report on the 2019 financial year

For the fourth year running, TV and radio channels have provided Arcom with quantitative and qualitative indicators on the representation of women and men in their programs, as requested by the legislator.

Key figures:

• A slightly lower presence of women on air - TV and radio combined - compared to 2017 (39% or -1 point), which represents a worrying underperformance and comes from the radio average (37% or -1 point). Television, on the other hand, is stable (42%).
• The underrepresentation of women at peak times on TV persists: 29% in the 9pm-11pm segment (-4 points on 2016) versus 42% overall.
• The two categories in which the proportions of women are highest - female presenters (47%) and journalists (38%) - are experiencing declines for the first time since 2016 (-1 and -2 points respectively).
• The proportion of female experts, TV and radio combined, continues to increase (37% female experts, +2 points on 2017 and +7 points on 2016).
• The proportion of female political guests, TV and radio combined, remains as low as ever (27%, -5 points on 2016), even though women have never been so well represented in the French National Assembly (39%).

Report on the representation of women on television and radio - Fiscal 2018

In 2018, for the third year running, in accordance with deliberation no. 2015-2 on respect for women's rights, TV channels and radio stations submitted to Arcom, qualitative and quantitative indicators on the representation of women and men in their programs for the 2017 financial year. Analysis of the data submitted by TV channels and radio stations has enabled Arcom to identify the following encouraging trends:

• A slight increase in the presence of women on the airwaves - TV and radio combined - compared to 2016 (40% or +2 points) ;
• Underrepresentation of women on TV at peak times (29% in the 6pm-8pm segment, versus 42% overall);
• An increase in the proportion of female experts (+5 points) compared to 2016, TV and radio combined (35% female experts vs. 65% male experts);
• A much higher proportion of female experts on general public service channels than on general private channels - TF1, Canal+, M6 - (41% vs. 27%);
• A significant rise in the proportion of female experts on radio (+8 points) compared to 2016 (37% vs. 29%);
• The "political guest" category has the lowest proportion of women (27%) on TV and radio combined. There was even a significant drop in this rate compared to 2016 (-5 points).

On January 27, 2017, the law on equality and citizenship gave Arcom specific competence in the fight against sexism in advertising[1]; it is now responsible for ensuring respect for the dignity of all people and the image of women appearing in audiovisual ads. Determined to actively contribute to this cause, on October 31, 2017, Arcom carried out and published a study on the image of women in TV commercials.

This study, which involved the broadcasting of 2,055 commercials on all the historical and new DTT channels, i.e. twenty-four channels, between October 2016 and April 2017, provided unprecedented data on the representation of women in TV commercials[2]. While not all gender stereotypes conveyed in TV commercials are necessarily degrading, Arcom has nevertheless noted the recurrent representation of gender stereotypes.

The findings of this study have reinforced our conviction that we need to reflect further on the influence of gender stereotypes on television viewers, and on means of identifying the stereotypes portrayed in these messages.

It was against this backdrop that, on December 4, 2017, Arcom met with industry professionals - the Union des Annonceurs (UDA), the Association des Agences Conseil en Communication (AACC), the Autorité de Régulation Professionnelle de la Publicité (ARPP) and the "La communication" industry -. The meeting provided an opportunity to exchange views with them on ways and means of effectively fighting gender stereotypes in TV advertising. Under the impetus of Councillor Sylvie Pierre-Brossolette, it led to the drafting of a charter of voluntary commitments to fight sexual, sexist and gendered stereotypes in advertising, which was signed on March 6, 2018.

For the first year, TV channels and radio stations have provided Arcom with qualitative and quantitative indicators on the representation of women and men in their programs.

Produced in consultation with the operators, this first report for 2015 revealed an overall representation of women on air that still needed to be improved. Indeed, the report indicates that women are less represented among expert guests, politicians and other speakers -even though it stresses that they are equally represented among presenters, hosts and journalists-.

Arcom was pleased to note, however, that a significant number of programs contributing to the fight against gender bias and violence against women were shown in 2015.

Browse the first report on the presence of women on television and radio

The year 2015 was marked by the adoption of deliberation n°2015-2 of February 4, 2015 on respect for women's rights, which specifies the conditions for applying law n°2014-873 of August 4, 2014 on real equality between women and men. This law, entrusts Arcom in particular with the mission of ensuring: " on the one hand, a fair representation of women and men in the programs of audiovisual communication services and, on the other hand, the image of women that appears in these programs in particular by fighting stereotypes, sexist prejudices, degrading images, violence against women and violence committed within couples".

The resolution applies to France Télévisions, Radio France, France Médias Monde, TF1, TMC, HD1, NT1, LCI, M6, 6Ter, W9, Paris Première, Canal +, I>Télé, D8, D17, NRJ 12, Chérie 25, NRJ, Nostalgie, RTL, Fun radio, Gulli, Europe 1, Virgin radio, RMC Découverte, RMC, BFM TV, L'Equipe 21 and Numéro 23. Other television and radio services may decide to comply voluntarily.

Browse the text of the deliberation of February 4, 2015 on the respect of women's rights.

Even before the law on real equality between women and men was passed, which entrusts Arcom with the task of monitoring the image of women in audiovisuel programs, in particular by fighting agains sexist stereotypes that may appear in them, Arcom decided to carry out an objectivise study of possible stereotypes conveyed in certain programs: drama, entertainment and animation.

Browse the studies on female stereotypes in drama, entertainment and animation programmes.

The creation of the "Women's Rights" working group in January 2013, in response to one of the recommendations in the September 2008 report of the Commission on the Image of Women, which called for "a mission on the image of women to be identified within Arcom", has enabled us to take a new step forward on this issue.

For 2013/2014, this working group defined the main lines of its action.

In February 2014 an initial assessment of the work of this working group was published.

The issue of women's rights was first taken up by Arcom through its work on diversity.

In March 2008, an Observatoire de la diversité dans les médias audiovisuels (Observatory for Diversity in the Audiovisual Media) was set up, made up of media personalities, to monitor the actions taken by television channels to promote diversity in all its forms (origin, age, gender, disability, etc.). The Observatory relies on a program monitoring barometer.

Deliberation no. 2009-85 of November 10, 2009, amended aims to promote the representation of diversity of French society in the programming of free national terrestrial channels, Canal + and all radio stations wishing to comply. The deliberation includes editors' commitments to improve the representation of diversity (origin, age, gender, disability, etc.). These commitments cover the contractual terms and conditions for ordering programs, on-air representation, and the teaching of best practices to programming and editorial managers. The resolution also makes provision for publishers to provide an annual report on compliance with their commitments by March 31 of each year.

Arcom took part in the symposium organized on December 7, 2011 by the Commission sur l'image des femmes dans les médias to mark the presentation of its annual report Les Expertes: bilan d'un an d'autorégulation.

Les Expertes report : one year of self-regulation in review

In January 2012, the first report on the enforcement of articles 27-1 and 28 of the July 9, 2010 law on violence against women was submitted to the French National Assembly's Commission des Lois constitutionnelles, de la législation et de l'administration générale de la République.

Finally, Arcom was involved in the 2013 edition of the Guide des expertes.

Since 2008, the government has been working more actively on the issue of women's image in the media

• The Commission on the Image of Women in the Media was set up in 2008 and made permanent in 2009 at the Prime Minister's request. In May 2011, the Minister of Solidarity and Social Cohesion issued a decree setting up the Commission on the Image of Women in the Media (chaired by Michèle Reiser) and making provision for it to report to the Minister for Women's Rights. The commission has produced two reports and initiated a self-regulation process with the media, culminating in the signing of a tripartite commitment agreement in October 2010. This commission on the image of women in the media was abolished at the beginning of 2013 in favor of streaming its missions to the High Council.

Commitment to self-regulation

• By Prime Ministerial decree no. 2013-8 of January 3, 2013, the Observatoire de la parité was replaced by the Haut Conseil à l'égalité hommes-femmes, which was installed on January 8 by Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, in the presence of the Minister for Women's Rights, Ms. Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, and chaired by Ms. Danielle Bousquet. The Haut Conseil's mission is " to ensure consultation with civil society and to lead public debate on the major orientations of women's rights and equality policy, particularly with regard to the fight against gender-based violence, the place of women in the media and the diffusion of sexist stereotypes, reproductive health, equal access to public and elective office, and the international dimension of the fight for women's rights ".

These steps taken by the authorities summon the establishment of a specific competence attributed to a regulation body that can ensure the control of the commitments made, failing which these commitments could remain without real scope.

[1] Cf. article 14 of the law of September 30, 1986.

[2] French Superior Audiovisual Council study on the image of women in television advertising.

The law enshrines the principle of equality between men and women, and " guarantees women equal rights with men in all fields " (cf. 3rd paragraph of the Preamble to the Constitution of October 27, 1946).

It also promotes free access and equal opportunities for men and women to " electoral mandates and elective offices, as well as to professional and social responsibilities " (cf. Article 1 of the Constitution of October 4, 1958 - amended on July 23, 2008).

Law of September 30, 1986

In terms of women's rights, Arcom's mission is to ensure: " on the one hand, a fair representation of women and men in the programs of communication services, on the other hand, the image of women that appears in these programs, in particular by fighting stereotypes, sexist prejudices, degrading images, violence against women and violence committed within couples. " (cf: Law no. 2014-873 of August 4, 2014 on real equality between women and men - 4th paragraph to Article 3-1 of Law no. 86-1067 of September 30, 1986).

To meet this objective, this law also inserted a new article 20-1 A into law no. 86-1067 of September 30, 1986, under which "the national program companies mentioned in article 44, as well as national television services and radio services belonging to a national diffusion network, diffused by terrestrial hertzian means, contribute to the fight against sexist prejudice and violence against women by showing programs relating to these subjects. These services provide the French Superior Audiovisual Council (now the French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication) with qualitative and quantitative indicators on the representation of women and men in their programs, enabling the Council to assess compliance with the objectives set out in the fourth paragraph of article 3-1. This information is published annually. Arcom sets the conditions for application of the present article, in consultation with the departments mentioned in the first paragraph of the present article."

The conditions for applying this law were specified in deliberation no. 2015-2 on respect for women's rights, adopted on February 4, 2015.

This deliberation is applicable to France Télévisions, Radio France, France Médias Monde, TF1, TMC, HD1, NT1, LCI, M6, 6Ter, W9, Paris Première, Canal+, I>Télé, C8, Cstar, NRJ 12, Chérie 25, NRJ, Nostalgie, RTL, Fun radio, Gulli, Europe 1, Virgin radio, RMC Découverte, RMC, BFM TV, L'Equipe and Numéro 23. In 2016, for the second year of application of the aforementioned deliberation, Arte, La Chaîne Parlementaire and Public Sénat, although not affected by it, decided to voluntarily provide Arcom with data relating to women's rights (cf. report on the representation of women on television and radio (financial year 2016) in Appendix 2).

In addition, article 43-11 of law no. 86-1067 of September 30, 1986, which only concerns national program companies, makes provision for: "[...] They [national program companies] implement actions in favor of social cohesion, cultural diversity, the fight agains discrimination and women's rights. In particular, they promote equality between women and men and fight agains sexist prejudices, violence against women and violence committed within couples. [...]. ".

Lastly, since the adoption on January 27, 2017 of Law no. 2017-86 on equality and citizenship, Arcom has been given new jurisdiction over the representation of women in advertising messages. The aforementioned law has, in fact, inserted the following provision into Article 14 of the 1986 law: "It shall ensure respect for the dignity of all persons and the image of women appearing in these advertising programs."

Radio and television service agreements, as well as the specifications of public service editors, also incorporate these provisions. However, as far as gender equality is concerned, only Radio France's specifications currently include a provision to this effect.

In addition, law no. 2010-769 of July 9, 2010 (articles 27-1 and 28) introduced a series of provisions into the law of September 30, 1986, notably to enable associations whose aim is to fight violence against women and gender-based discrimination to refer cases to Arcom.

• Article 3: Principle of respect for human dignity

" Advertising must comply with the requirements of truthfulness, decency and respect for human dignity. (...) "

• Article 4: principle of non-discrimination on the grounds of sex

" Advertising must be free from any discrimination on the grounds of, gender, nationality, disability, age or sexual orientation, any scenes of violence and any incitement to behavior prejudicial to health, the safety of persons and property or the protection of the environment. "

Since 1993, Arcom has been exercising a posteriori control over both commercials and programs.

With regard to television commercials, the Autorité de régulation professionnelle de la publicité(ARPP) analyzes advertising production intended for diffusion on linear television, as well as on-demand audiovisual media services (SMAD), issuing all applicants, members and non-members alike, with a prior opinion on their conformity with current professional rules and regulations.

After receiving the published opinion of its consultative body, the Conseil paritaire de la publicité (CPP), the Authority defines the ethical rules ("notices") that apply to its members, who voluntarily undertake to comply with them. It also advises professionals on the development of advertising messages.

A Jury de Déontologie Publicitaire (JDP) completes the scheme: its mission is to give a public verdict on complaints lodged against an advertisement or campaign, with regard to professional rules.

• Law no. 2014-873 of August 4, 2014 on real equality between women and men.

This law inserted a fourth paragraph into article 3-1 of law no. 86-1067 of September 30, 1986, entrusting Arcom with the mission of ensuring: "on the one hand, a fair representation of women and men in the programs of communication services, on the other hand, the image of women that appears in these programs, in particular by fighting stereotypes, sexist prejudices, degrading images, violence against women and violence committed within couples."

• Law no. 2017-86 on equality and citizenship (January 27, 2017)

With this law, Arcom was given a new remit in terms of the representation of women in advertising messages. The aforementioned law has, in fact, inserted the following provision into Article 14 of the 1986 law: "It shall ensure respect for the dignity of all persons and the image of women appearing in these advertising programs."

• Modified deliberation of November 10, 2009 on the representation of diversity of French society on television and radio.

The amendeddeliberation of November 10, 2009 aims to promote the representation of diversity of French society in the programs of national free-to-air channels, Canal + and radio stations wishing to make a commitment based on the deliberation. The latter includes editors' commitments to improve the representation of diversity (origin, age, gender, disability, etc.). These commitments cover the contractual terms and conditions for ordering programs, on-air representation, and the teaching of best practices to programming and editorial managers. The deliberation also makes provision for the obligation for publishers to provide an annual report on compliance with their commitments by March 31 of each year.

• REFRAM declaration on gender equality in the audiovisual media in September 2011

Along with the 25 other member institutions of the French-speaking Network of Media Regulators (REFRAM), Arcom adopted a declaration on gender equality in the audiovisual media in Brussels on September 19, 2011. With this text, the network's regulators encourage all players involved in professional and non-professional media to give gender equality in the media a significant place and to adopt measures to achieve this objective.

REFRAM declaration on equality between men and women

• RIRM declaration on fight agains gender stereotypes in audiovisual media in November 2012.

The members of the Network of Mediterranean Regulatory Authorities (RIRM), meeting on November 22 and 23, 2012 in Lisbon, decided to adopt a Declaration on fighting gender-based stereotypes in the audiovisual media. The Network decided to set up a working group to implement the declaration's objectives (assessment tools, carrying out studies, active collaboration with audiovisual media through co-regulation to fight agains gender stereotypes in programs).

RIRM declaration on fight agains stereotypes

• Commitment to self-regulation to improve the image of women in the media

Deed of commitment for a self-regulatory approach

• ARPP notice on the image of the human person

ARPP notice on the image of the human person

• Rapport d'information de Mme la sénatrice Brigitte GONTHIER-MAURIN au nom de la délégation aux droits des femmes et à l'égalité des chances entre les hommes et les femmes: La place des femmes dans l'art et la culture - June 27, 2013.
• Report by the Observatory for Gender Equality in Culture and Communication (1st state of play - March 1, 2013). The French Ministry of culture and communication held a press conference on March 1, 2013 to announce the Ministry of culture's roadmap for gender equality following the first meeting of the Ministerial Committee for Equality. On this occasion, the French Ministry of culture and communication published the first report of the Observatory for Equality designed to federate objective data on the situation of women in the sphere of culture and communication.
• Reports from the Commission on the Image of Women in the Media (2008-2011)

Report on the image of women in the media - 2008

Report Les Expertes : bilan d'une année d'autorégulation - 2011

• Report on theimage of women in advertising submitted to Nicole Péry, Secretary of State for Women's Rights and Vocational Training - July 2001
• Studies on stereotypes by Laboratoire de l'égalité
• Study on the place of women in music and cinema in Europe, a publication by the Vivendi group and Laboratoire de l'égalité, November 2013.

Examples of academic work

• Work by Marlène Coullomb-Gully, a French researcher in political communication and gender representations in the media, professor of information and communication sciences at the Université Toulouse II-Le Mirail.
• Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP): international study (108 countries involved in 2010) conducted since 1995 on the place of women in news coverage in three media (television, radio, press).

Who makes the news?

• Work by Geneviève SELLIER, member of the Institut Universitaire de France, on gender approaches to French cinema and French television drama
• Work by Sarah SEPULCHRE, PhD in Social Sciences and professor at the Université catholique de Louvain (Belgium): Decoding television series
• Thesis on "Television representations of the male-female couple: a gender approach" by Ms. Laetitia BISCARRAT - Doctoral thesis in Information and Communication Sciences - Université Michel de Montaigne Bordeaux 3- École doctorale Montaigne Humanités Under the supervision of Professor André VITALIS - Presented and publicly defended on June 25, 2012

Women's sport gains airtime. The"Sport féminin toujours" media coverage operation has launched a dynamic and is participating in a virtuous circle.

In its study on the place of women in the audiovisual and digital media during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Authority hails the progress made by channels in highlighting women's competitions and encourages them to continue their efforts in the coming years. More broadly, Arcom urges them to transform the exceptional momentum of the 2024 Games into a sustainable lever for regular coverage of women's sport.

• Over the entire Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Gaming, 37% of the hourly volume of event coverage concerned women's sport, compared with 56% men's sport and 7% mixed sport.

• The final of the women's basketball tournament between France and the USA attracted an average of 6.4 million viewers. During the gaming season, a record 42% of broadcast hours were devoted to women's sports.

• During television coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, female commentators were far from achieving parity (18% on average). It was particularly reduced during the men's events, as well as during prime time.

• Beyond their diffusion by publishers, the Paris Games were a major topic of conversation online, with 869,000 posts relating to French athletes collected on social networks, blogs, forums and websites. 31% of posts mentioned female athletes, compared to 57% for male athletes (and 12% of generic/undetermined conversations).

Installed on September 5, 2017 by Laura Flessel, Minister of Sports, and Marlène Schiappa, Secretary of State to the Prime Minister in charge of Equality between Women and Men, the Permanent Conference on Women's Sport is tasked with increasing women's sports participation in France. It comprises some thirty experts from the worlds of sport, audiovisual, business and the public sector. Their work contributes to the development of women's sport in all its aspects: structuring amateur and professional sport, the economics of women's sport, media coverage, women's access to positions of responsibility and governance, etc.

Arcom is a member of the Conference working group dedicated to "Media coverage of women's sport". The "Sport féminin toujours" operation is one of the actions carried out in this manager.

Arcom also participates in the commissions of the CNDS (Centre national pour le développement du sport) audiovisuel production support fund.

This fund supports sports federations in financing the television production of emerging sporting events.