On Saturday 30 January 2021, Rete Rosa hosted the event: Donne, Media, and Politica.

The event was attended by two amazing guests: Lucina Di Meco and Valeria Fedeli. Lucina is an expert in equal opportunities and female leadership in the world. Her research, #ShePersisted, explores the relationship between females in politics and social media. Valeria, Senator from Partito Democratico since 2018, has always been a supporter of women's rights and gender equality.

 

The cardinal point of the event is the role of the media and how that can influence women in politics. 
The debate touched two important realities: on one hand, the American one, analyzed by Lucina, and on the other hand, the Italian one, explained by Valeria.

 

Lucina begins her presentation by sharing strong and alarming facts with us:

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-> In 2016, 85% of women engaged in politics use social media. 41.8% of female parliamentarians saw humiliating images, often of a sexual nature, that they portray on social media.

 

-> In 2018, in the UK and USA, a woman in politics or journalism is harassed on Twitter every 30 seconds and almost all cybercrime goes unpunished, due to a legislative gap around the world.

 

-> In 2019, young women do not want to start a political career because they don't want to be subject to so many discriminations and insults.

 

Social media play a very significant role because they are one of the main sources of information, especially for younger generations.

 

On the other hand, Valeria explains how in Italy the social media is used to attack women in politics, not just primarily for their actions and political proposals, but especially for their aesthetic image. The attacks are very strong and, unfortunately, data shows that many of these discriminations are committed by male politicians, which is an additional aggravating factor. Furthermore, there is a low presence of women in the media in Italy. Women sign only 23% of European newspapers, in Italy, there are only 2 women who run newspapers, a few women who work in social media, and a few women who work in Italian public media, such as television. This affects the messages spread across the country.

 

What are the possible solutions to this situation and how can women be encouraged to participate in politics?

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We recommend you watch the recorded event for more information and to learn which are the possible solutions to promote women in politics and to minimize, or better, eliminate gender discrimination.

 

Enjoy! 🎥 🍿