Research on the representation of women in media shows that across news, film, and advertising, women are roughly a quarter to a third of the people shown or quoted. In leading business magazines, about one third of articles mention at least one man and no women. The Global Media Monitoring Project 2025 found that women are 26% of news subjects and sources, a share that has changed by nine points in 30 years. If you have noticed how few women get quoted in your industry, the research matches what you saw.
News Coverage: Who Appears and Who Is Quoted as the Expert
UN Women, the United Nations entity for gender equality, reports that women are more often quoted as eyewitnesses giving personal accounts than as subject matter experts. The GMMP highlights report puts numbers on that split: women’s share of people quoted for popular opinion rose from 37% in 2015 to 46% in 2025, while their share of experts moved from 19% to 23%.
Stereotypes of Women in Media: What the News Monitoring Found
Researchers also study the portrayal of women in media, or how women are shown once they appear. The GMMP found that two of every 100 news stories clearly challenge gender stereotypes, and UN Women reports that journalism countering those stereotypes is at its lowest level in three decades of monitoring.
Film: About One Third of Speaking Roles
The USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative’s August 2026 report found that women and girls were 33.6% of speaking or named characters in the 100 top films of 2025, so male characters outnumbered female characters by roughly two to one. Women filled 24.2% of speaking roles for characters 40 or older.
Advertising: Fewer Women on Screen and Less Time to Speak
The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and J. Walter Thompson New York analyzed more than 2,000 ads from the Cannes Lions archive and found that women were 36.9% of characters in 2016, while men had about four times as much screen time.
Business Magazines: How Often Articles Mention Only Men
Researchers Kate Power, Lucy Rak, and Marianne Kim reviewed 2,317 articles from Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Forbes, and Fortune and found that about one third mentioned at least one man and no women.
Representation of Women in Media: How a Founder Can Get Seen and Quoted
It is discouraging to know your field and still watch reporters call someone else. These patterns are structural, and a few steps can bring your expertise to the people who choose the sources.
It helps to list the subjects you want to be quoted on as an expert on one page with a short bio and a headshot, so a journalist on deadline can see what you know. Mariya’s guide on how to get press coverage explains how to write the pitch itself.
You can apply to WMC SheSource, which the Women’s Media Center describes as a database of media-experienced women experts for journalists, bookers, and producers. Our post on HARO alternatives covers similar services.
Your media list can include women reporters and hosts in your field. USC Annenberg’s study of the top podcasts of 2024 found that women were 45.3% of guests on shows with at least one woman host, compared with 17.9% on shows with no woman host. For shows with women hosts, see our list of podcasts for women entrepreneurs.
Raising that visibility is the mission of Pink Fins Media, our interview series for women entrepreneurs, women-led brands, and women industry leaders.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Percentage of People in the News Are Women?
The Global Media Monitoring Project 2025 found that women are 26% of the people seen, heard, or spoken about in print and broadcast news.
How Are Women Portrayed in Media Today?
Women hold roughly a quarter to a third of roles in news and top films, and in the news they are quoted more often for personal experience than as experts.
How Can a Woman Business Owner Get Quoted as an Expert?
List the subjects you know best on an expert page, apply to expert databases for women such as WMC SheSource, and pitch reporters and hosts who cover your field.
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