Eliminating gender stereotypes in the media
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 24 June 2026 (23rd sitting) (see Doc. 16418, report of the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination,
rapporteur: Ms Yevheniia Kravchuk; and Doc. 16419, opinion of the Committee on Culture, Science, Education
and Media, rapporteur: Mr Benjamin Dalle). Text
adopted by the Assembly on 24 June 2026 (23rd sitting).
1. Gender stereotypes, or stereotypes
about the characteristics and roles traditionally attributed to
women and men in private and family life, as well as in professional
and public life, remain pervasive throughout public communication
spaces, including in traditional media, such as the press, radio
and television, and in modern media, including online platforms
and social networks.
2. Such stereotypes do not merely reflect long-standing social
traditions; they also perpetuate them by normalising them and, at
times, presenting them as appealing, particularly to younger generations.
The popularity on social media of so-called trad wives, who portray
an idealised traditional image of domestic femininity, is a clear
example of such dynamics.
3. Gender stereotypes hinder progress towards gender equality
and undermine women’s empowerment by conveying the message that
women’s position in private and public life is limited and predetermined.
They also damage boys and men by presenting them with stereotypes
of male behaviours and roles to which they may feel intense pressure
to conform, as well as negatively impact societies in general by
robbing them of the full range and potential of their populations.
These stereotypes should therefore be challenged and countered wherever
they occur, and particularly in communication spaces which reach
large portions of the population.
4. The Parliamentary Assembly reaffirms that women, in all their
diversity, can and do aspire to, and successfully fulfil, any role
or position in society. Empowering women means enabling them to
fulfil such potential.
5. As gender stereotypes are an eminently cultural issue, the
response should, above all, be cultural in nature, with measures
applied to education, mass media and the cultural industry in general.
6. Referring to its
Resolution 1751
(2010) and
Recommendation 1931
(2010) “Combating sexist stereotypes in the media”, the
Assembly reiterates that gender stereotypes are a barrier to gender
equality and are too frequently trivialised and tolerated under
the banner of freedom of expression. Since the adoption of these
texts, the media landscape has significantly evolved, with an increase
in social media influence, and the negative impact of gender stereotyping
has become even stronger.
7. The Assembly welcomes Recommendation CM/Rec(2026)1 of the
Committee of Ministers to member States on equality and artificial
intelligence, and acknowledges the risks posed to equality and non-discrimination
by artificial intelligence (AI) systems. In particular, such systems
can reproduce, perpetuate and exacerbate existing gender stereotypes.
The Assembly also recognises that the under-representation of women
as well as individuals and groups at risk of discrimination in the
AI sector – particularly in decision-making roles, and in the design
and development of AI systems – further exacerbates these risks.
The Assembly is also aware of the distinct challenges that AI systems
may present due to their complexity, large-scale impact and limited
transparency.
8. In the current global context of democratic backsliding and
increasing attacks on gender equality, preventing and countering
gender stereotyping are more relevant and urgent than ever.
9. In this regard, it is important to address not only the representation
of women on screen, but also the role of women behind the scenes
in the production of television series and films. Female directors,
producers and screenwriters often play a decisive role in ensuring
more balanced representation, more diverse perspectives and richer
storylines. Scenarios written by women also tend to create more
substantial and leading roles for female actors. Gender equality
in media is therefore not only a question of visibility, but also of
access to creative power and editorial decision making. Supporting
female talent at all levels of the audiovisual sector is essential
to achieving more inclusive and realistic representations of women
in society.
10. Gender stereotyping is often exacerbated by intersectionality:
young women, women from racialised groups and lesbian, bisexual
and transgender women are particularly vulnerable and disproportionally targeted.
Transgender women are the victims of severe forms of stereotyping,
portraying them as ill, unstable or as a threat to the safety and
integrity of others. In view of this, policies to prevent and counter
gender stereotyping should be based on a widely intersectional approach.
11. The intersection between age and gender is of paramount importance
in this regard. Too often, women have more limited opportunities
as they grow older, for example as presenters, journalists or leading
on-screen figures, whereas this tends to be far less the case for
men. This imbalance contributes to the invisibility of older women
in public life and reinforces harmful stereotypes linking women’s
value primarily to youth and appearance.
12. As regards men and boys, the harm caused by societal pressure
to conform to traditional roles is compounded by the expectation
that they should not seek help or even express vulnerability (“boys
don’t cry”).
13. The Assembly emphasises that the media can play an important
emancipatory role by promoting mutual respect, equal opportunities,
social cohesion and diverse role models for younger generations.
14. In the light of these considerations, the Assembly calls on
the member and observer States of the Council of Europe and States
whose parliament enjoys observer or partner for democracy status
with the Assembly:
14.1 with regard
to education, information and awareness raising, to:
14.1.1 ensure
that age-appropriate, mandatory school curricula on comprehensive
sexuality education address gender equality, consent and critical
analysis of gender stereotypes across traditional and digital media;
14.1.2 incorporate media literacy programmes at all educational
levels to equip children, young people and adults with skills to
recognise and challenge gender stereotypes, disinformation, sexist
hate speech and manipulative content in audiovisual, print and online
formats;
14.1.3 develop and support teacher training and educational resources
enabling educators to address gender stereotypes in the media and
to promote critical thinking about representations of people in
all their diversity regarding sexual orientation, gender identity
and gender expression;
14.1.4 launch nationwide public awareness campaigns, with a focus
on youth, to highlight the harmful societal effects of gender stereotyping,
sexist hate speech and normalisation of gender inequality in media
and online environments;
14.1.5 foster co-operation between public education and public
service broadcasters and other media outlets to produce and disseminate
information campaigns promoting non-stereotypical role models and
gender equality;
14.1.6 extend media literacy and gender equality education to
non-formal education settings and lifelong learning, in order to
reach vulnerable groups and enhance resilience against harmful digital
content;
14.2 with regard to co-operation with civil society, to:
14.2.1 provide sustainable funding, institutional support and
protection to non-governmental organisations working on gender equality,
women’s rights, media literacy, youth empowerment and the prevention
of violence against women and girls;
14.2.2 consider civil society organisations as key partners in
designing, implementing and evaluating national policies to combat
gender stereotypes in media and digital spaces;
14.2.3 fund civil society research, training and campaigns challenging
harmful gender norms and promoting inclusive media representations;
14.3 with regard to online platforms and technology companies,
to:
14.3.1 require social media platforms and online services
to design and enforce transparent, updated community standards prohibiting
gender-based harassment, sexist hate speech, image-based abuse and
violence, deepfakes and stereotyping causing demonstrable harm;
14.3.2 strengthen co-operation with online platforms, civil society
and fact-checkers to detect, demote and remove harmful content while
safeguarding freedom of expression;
14.3.3 mandate regular transparency reports from platforms detailing
moderation practices, enforcement timelines, appeals processes and
algorithmic impacts on gender-based content amplification;
14.3.4 strengthen user reporting tools on platforms with rapid,
effective responses and remedies for victims of gender-based abuse
and image-based violence;
14.3.5 compel platforms to audit and mitigate gender biases perpetuating
stereotypes or misogynistic content in algorithms, recommended systems
and targeted advertising;
14.3.6 promote co-operation with online platforms in the area
of preventing and countering deepfakes and manipulated image content
targeting women and men in politics and public life;
14.3.7 require that the unauthorised distribution of realistic
digitally generated imitations of personal characteristics is considered
illegal in their national legislation, as proposed by the Assembly
in its
Resolution 2654
(2026) “Copyright enforcement in the artificial intelligence environment”;
14.3.8 support the inclusive and transformative use of AI systems
to advance equality, including gender equality, by ensuring that
relevant legislation, policies and regulatory, administrative or
other frameworks create the conditions for initiatives in this regard
and consider promoting adequate funding, as proposed by Recommendation CM/Rec(2026)1;
14.4 with regard to media, public service broadcasting, the
advertising sector and other cultural industries, to:
14.4.1 urge
media organisations, journalists’ associations, the advertising
sector and other cultural industries to adopt robust codes of ethics
and self-regulatory mechanisms explicitly discouraging gender stereotyping
and sexist representations and promoting non-stereotypical portrayals
of women and men, as well as their equal presence on and off screen;
14.4.2 implement gender equality action plans in public service
media, including equitable recruitment and career progression, leadership
quotas and anti-harassment measures;
14.4.3 enhance women’s voices, and the diversity of voices, in
news, entertainment, sports and political coverage, as well as in
advertising, avoiding stereotypical role assignments;
14.4.4 fund and promote content showcasing women and men in diverse,
leadership and non-traditional roles across genres;
14.4.5 condition public funding for film, audiovisual and cultural
projects upon gender equality targets, balanced teams and inclusive
storytelling, while taking into account the creative requirements
of the funded project and the freedom of expression of the artists
involved;
14.4.6 support training, internships and mentoring to encourage
women to take on leadership roles in journalism, production and
creation;
14.4.7 require media organisations to ensure gender balance among
experts, leaders and athletes in public broadcasting schedules and
editorial choices;
14.4.8 pay special attention to ensure fair representation of
women of all ages, both on screen and in editorial roles;
14.4.9 promote a non-stereotypical and respectful representation
of men and boys;
14.4.10 encourage media regulators to integrate a gender perspective
into their standard-setting and monitoring activities, with a view
to preventing and countering gender stereotyping in the media and
advertising sectors;
14.4.11 encourage cultural institutions and cultural industries
to promote gender equality and challenge discriminatory stereotypes
in cultural production and dissemination;
14.5 with regard to monitoring, research and data, to:
14.5.1 systematically collect and publish sex- and age-disaggregated
data on media representation, online gender-based abuse and violence
and stereotyping impacts, in order to track progress;
14.5.2 commission regular research on the prevalence, manifestations
and effects of gender stereotypes in traditional, digital and algorithmic
media.
15. The Assembly highlights that an intersectional approach is
paramount in the design, implementation, monitoring and assessment
of legislation and policies to prevent and counter gender stereotyping.
Effective data collection must take into account the intersection
of all grounds of discrimination including age, ethnic origin, migration
status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender
expression.
