In the plethora of businesses and opportunities available today, the media industry has emerged as one of the most lucrative and viable businesses in the present day and age. News, entertainment, infotainment, the very addictive daily soaps and our staple entertainers Hindi films- the media industry is booming and offering opportunities to young media aspirants like never before.
As various industries grow and expand, opportunities for professionals proportionately increase. With women coming to the forefront in various spheres of society, seldom are opportunities restricted to the so called “preferred sex” in today’s times. Every year sees an increasing number of women graduating from educational and professional institutions. The demand today in various fields is for trained, knowledgeable, skilled and groomed professionals. The Media industry is no different in its demand for professionals demanding driven journalists, trained technicians, competent creative persons and seasoned entrepreneurs as its human resource. With a current annual turnover of more than 20,000 crore rupees, which is an impressive 4.65 billion US dollars and a reasonable growing rate despite the economic meltdown, the demand for professionals in the media world is only growing every year.
Traditionally, about the profession of the media it was commonly said that men are generally more suitable because women find it difficult to keep up with long and odd hours of work and even visit certain places. Orthodox families would not allow women to go out during hours of crisis. Even editors and senior reporters would feel unsafe in sending out women reporters during a crisis situation as in case of any unfortunate adversity, they could be held responsible and liable. All in all, various reasons prevented women from being in the media, undermining their aspirations and desires to be part of this very fascinating world.
In the past years, however, the situation has changed manifold. In my opinion, today, roles for women in this sector, are no less than they are for men. I believe this is due to the fact that in this brave new world, women are striding ahead in professions that were considered formerly fit and appropriate only for men at large. They have broken traditions and stereotypes and have carved their niche in these professions. When talking about journalism, for instance, women have assumed roles other than news readers. They have branched out into reporting, editing, writing and journalism in India is incomplete without naming some prolific women journalists of our country. Both male and female reporters can be observed reporting from tough areas, be it traverse terrains or terror stricken sites. With equal or perhaps more enthusiasm, fervour and motivation, one can observe women journalists doing their job. Journalism requires skill, stamina, motivation, a desire to report and update and keep people aware and informed. Women journalists having reported crime, terror strikes and other sensitive cases and having proved their mettle year after year in this field, the doors for women reporters are today welcoming and open in any house of journalism.
Women have also assumed roles of technicians in the media. Today, it is not unusual to find women camerapersons, editors, sound recordists or graphic designers in news channels and production houses. Sight of women camerapersons working on the field, facilitating news reporting from crime or terror struck areas inspire the young generation of women aspiring to be in the field. Their presence sends a signal to the men, that gender barriers are surely and clearly breaking. Society at large is forced to look up to these women as they look up to the men.
I also believe that after years of hard work and service, a number of women are nearing the top of the editorial ladder and a handful have achieved what would have been unthinkable just a couple of decades ago. Such periodic changes and other developing trends in the press have influenced the experience of and prospects for women in journalism today.
My observations in my organization reinforce have been that there is seldom any discrimination between journalists on the basis of gender and there is no gender based division of labour. Compared to the days we were interning and struggling to make a mark in the media this I believe is a very progressive trend.
Corporate roles for women in the non news side of the media industry have also emerged in the past few years. I would put it this way that opportunities were always there. But our evolving culture has led women to avail these opportunities and excel in the field too. Production houses across India have creative directors, creative supervisors, story and dialogue writers as women. In fact, broadly seen, one will find that the ratio of men is to women in such production houses is very often skewed towards the women. As you all are aware, the top lot of production houses have women heading the organizations and calling the shots. Ekta Kapoor, Aruna Irani, Anita Kaul Basu, Deeya Singh are the very successful names in commanding positions in production houses today. It is true that in the past years, fiction programmes on television have been increasingly based on women centric concepts. These programmes have done extraordinarily well with the audiences and it is argued that since women would have a better understanding of stories depicted on the small screen- more women are employed in production houses.
Personally, I find no fault in this argument. What is important for me is that out of all this have emerged new roles in the media corporate house where women are taking the lead.
The film and advertising industry have also seen emerging corporate roles for women. A new brigade of women directors, producers, writers and technicians are gaining ground in the film and advertising industry. I find the number of upcoming women directors especially overwhelming, as direction is one field again stereotyped as a man’s profession in our country. Young women directors like Farah Khan, Zoya Akhtar and Guriner Chadha breaking the cliché are a welcome change in this regard.
Animation and video games are emerging segments in the media. And they offer emerging roles for men and women alike. Graphic designers, software engineers and developers, content writers and editors, animation artistes and more- the demand for professionals in this segment of the media is also immense. With a large number of women taking to the study of animation, graphic design and so on and so forth- they are assuming many a role in this industry too.
Radio is another segment of the media that has boomed in the past couple of years. Apart from radio jockeying, women have assumed offices in programming and creative designing of various radio channels as well.
Today Convergence is the mantra for the Indian media industry. The internet and mobile entertainment are attracting a large number of women and it is not out of the ordinary to find women in Convergence head offices.
Trends in the media industry, I believe, are reflective of the overall cultural evolution of the nation. With large scale globalization, urbanization and exposure, women are increasingly motivated to be financially independent. They increasingly look forward to balancing their homes with the career they have in mind. Supportive laws and changing mindsets have helped such women come to the forefront. In cases where families have not been supportive, women have struggled to win their right of working to fulfill their aspirations. The current times are testimony of the success of these women in their struggle. Also is the dissolving bias against women taking the lead in several professions. The 90s woman has not only led women at large to become economically independent and professionally adept but has also led society to change its perspective of the woman of India. This in turn has pushed women to become aware, adept and empowered.
Like in the media industry, roles for women in other corporate houses will keep emerging as they increasingly fill the criterion and skill required for the job. As they display exemplary competence in their field of work, organizations will keep absorbing women as part of their work force. As a woman entrepreneur in the media industry for fourteen years, I welcome this trend and hope to see more women participation in all industries, and particularly look forward to their presence in the media sector.
