The interactive workshop module introduces the Media Essentials Toolkit. This toolkit highlights some of the reasons why the media needs to be a focus of gender activism. Understanding the media’s various roles, power, influence and it’s role in effecting change are essential for any type of advocacy that aims to change the media.

Questions like:

• What are some of the key messages transmitted through your media about women’s roles in society?
• What are some of your media’s messages on men’s roles in society?
• What are your media’s messages on the struggle for gender equity?
• How can you become a Media Advocate and start a career?

These activities help advance women’s rights and gender equity in and through the media:

• Lobbying
• Campaigning
• Research
• Training
• Blogging
• Podcasting
• Media monitoring
• Communication
• Building alliances

Rooted in the women’s movement, gender and media advocacy are grounded in and connected to local struggles. These activities come from those who experience injustices and inequalities within our communities. Women in the media have helped change how women are systematically marginalized.