Women in community radio: a framework of gendered participation

Abstract

Women’s participation in community radio is examined through a case study of Ireland, with data gathered by survey, interviews and a focus group. Key findings note that women are under-represented as participants in community radio, but there is little activity within the sector to address this imbalance. Similarly, women’s voices are absent from community airwaves but this is framed through a limited understanding women lacking on-air confidence. Solutions to the problem were limited to individual stations rather than approached in a collective manner. There was no sense of women’s voices on air being a priority issue for stations, for the sector, nor for the national regulatory body. With regard to content, stations largely tended to produce “islands” of specialist women’s programmes but there was a sense that women produced content in ways that were not normative and were explicitly linked to gender. Gendered social structures, as well as organisational structures within community radio, constituted further barriers to women’s equal participation in community radio in Ireland. Finally, the presence of women as role models, sponsors, and managers, who were relational in their approach, was key gendered benefits that women derived from their participation in community radio.

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