BBC promises to have more expert women on news shows

Its initiative comes after efforts by some of its shows to count the gender of experts had an immediate impact.

Outside Source, which is shown on both the BBC news channel and BBC world news, has already achieved a 50:50 male to female split after it adopted a system of self monitoring in January 2017.

Lord Tony Hall, the BBC’s Director General, said: “This is a fantastic project that is already driving change. “The results from programmes that have taken it up have been remarkable.

He added: “Adopting it more widely will help transform the range of expert voices across the BBC.”

BBC Scotland

The corporation stressed it will continue to interview the relevant minister, official appropriate to a story, regardless of their sex. But it will monitor the gender of experts asked to comment on - or explain - events to make sure that over the course of a month they balance out.

Separately, the BBC has committed to having a 50:50 balance in on-air talent and leading roles in its organisation by 2020. It is also reviewing pay after it emerged top male presenters took home far more than women.

There have been several efforts to encourage more women to contribute to news and current affairs programmes, including a scheme by the group Women in Journalism north of the border to offer broadcasting training to experts. The BBC Academy. the corporation’s educational wing, has also offered courses.

The new scheme, however, reflects experiences across global broadcasting and journalism that simply monitoring TV or radio guest lists - or even the names of people quoted in newspapers - brings more equal representation.

READ MORE: Marianne Taylor on the gender pay gap in the media

As recently as 2014 ass recently as 2014 a study of flagship British TV news shows found male experts outnumbered women by four to one.

The problem even prevails in countries seen as having greater gender equality than the UK. Sweden has the most balanced representation on TV, radio and newspapers in Nordic world; but women only account for 30 per cent of people seen, read or heard about in its news media, according to a 2016 study.

There are now more than 80 BBC shows, including The One Show and BBC News at Six and Ten, keeping tabs on the sex of their guests.

The Andrew Marr Show on BBC One and Radio 4’s File on 4 have seen a rise of more than 10 per cent in expert female contributors and reporters since recording their figures, the broadcaster said.

Fran Unsworth, director of news, added: “We are starting to see a real transformation across the BBC. But we want to go further and faster.

“The success already delivered demonstrates the desire and commitment of BBC teams to lead the way on this important issue.

“That’s why, the BBC is now setting the challenge of all programmes - on both radio and TV - that use expert contributors, to meet a 50/50 split of contributors by April 2019.

“The BBC will produce report on the progress at that time. We can and are delivering change. The BBC is happy to share its experience of this project with other broadcasters and news organisations who might want to adopt a similar approach.”

Fran Unsworth

READ MORE: Shona Craven on the scourge of 'manels'

Talat Yaqoob, chair of Women 5050, the campaign for equal representation in politics, said: “There is no shortage of intelligent women who have expertise on newsworthy debates, but too often we have seen all male panels on a host of critical issues, this despite women’s organisations making suggestions and providing lists of women experts who can be invited on.

“This is a welcome move from the BBC and I hope it is a mark of a change of culture that is matched with gender equality across the board, including tackling their gender pay gap and taking on the feedback from the recent reports made by current and former women presenters on the BBC.”

Analysis: Too many all-male panels means the need for action is clear​

IT has not been a great year for the BBC in terms of gender equality. The issue of equal pay in particular has dogged the corporation, with a litany of senior female journalists and presenters revealing shocking disparities between themselves male colleagues.

But inequality is a far wider issue than pay, and gender discrimination goes far deeper. That’s why news that the BBC is taking action to achieve a 50:50 split in expert contributions across its programming should be welcomed as a step in the right direction.

I should admit that I have a vested interest in this, both as someone invited to be a commentator, and in my capacity as a committee member of Women in Journalism Scotland (WiJ), an organisation created to amplify female voices across the media landscape.

The need for action is clear. You can still switch on the TV or radio, or open a newspaper, and be confronted by a "manel" - an all-male panel or group of contributors - particularly when the topic for discussion is politics, economics, science or technology.

Marianne Taylor with Nicola Sturgeon

Is this because there aren't any women capable of giving an expert view? Of course not. The reasons men end up being viewed as experts are many and complex. Historically, since it was men who worked in these spheres, society became conditioned to thinking that specialists had to male. Journalists and broadcasters hold lists of experts and they can be lazy - why bother finding someone new when you've got a perfectly reliable - if not necessarily knowledgeable - male contributor?

Then, as WiJ has explored with its membership, there are the barriers women create for themselves. Many say "no" to invitations to appear on television or radio because they don't see themselves as experts or have the confidence to speak in public - often they recommend male colleagues with less specialist knowledge. Women also often find themselves scrutinised with far greater ferocity than men when they appear in public, and are far more likely to receive abuse on social media, often about their looks or what they're wearing as well as what they say. Unsurprisingly, this puts many off.

WiJ has been working to give women the confidence to air their expertise, and we recently worked with BBC Scotland on its Expert Women training initiative, which is already seeing progress with increased female representation across television, radio and online in terms of the number and breadth of women providing contributions. Their expert knowledge and experience - not least in science and technology - is already helping viewers and listeners understand complex issues. It is also making editors think differently about how they recruit experts, and that's hugely important going forward.

It's not just the BBC that needs to tackle inequality, of course. All media outlets must and hopefully will follow their lead on striving for equality in contributors. For until it is as normal to see a woman discuss astrophysics on the telly as a man, until "manels" are a thing of the past, there is work to be done.