The Instagram Account Removing Men From Aussie News Sites

An anonymous Instagram account is causing quite a stir online and garnering plenty of attention in the process.

Titled, “Front Pages Without Males”, the page is attempting to point out the underrepresentation of women in Australian media.

The posts are screenshots of the current front page of The Guardian and The ABC among other news sites, with all male-oriented stories whited-out, leaving only female-focused stories.

The vast majority of the posts are left completely white due to a lack of women’s stories.

The female stories that remain after the erasure are usually stories about weight, fashion or in some cases, murder victims.

A woman making misleading comments about the tampon tax and a murder are the two news articles about women on today’s ABC News front page. Image 1) stories just about women Image 2) stories not exclusively about men Image 3) unedited N.B the story on image 2 & 3 about a gender non-binary musician is a great read ??
A post shared by Front Pages Without Males (@frontpageswithoutmales) on May 2, 2018 at 8:49pm PDT

Others show only white.

The Guardian AU, online 21/04/18. First image, stories specifically about women, second image stories not exclusively about men, third is the unedited page.
A post shared by Front Pages Without Males (@frontpageswithoutmales) on Apr 20, 2018 at 7:20pm PDT

The Australian media industry is no stranger to conversations about gender inequality, nor in adland more generally.

In March, adland veteran and women’s rights activist Cindy Gallop used a speech in London to shake-up the industry, delivering a serve to the world’s biggest media company, WPP, and its lack of gender equality.

Speaking at The Guardian Changing Media Summit, Gallop picked-up on WPP’s own findings that one of its top London agencies, J Walter Thompson UK Group, typically paid its male staff significantly more.

Gallop, whose comments were reported on UK industry site Campaign, also slammed WPP management over Gustavo Martinez, the former JWT global CEO, who is currently facing allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination by a senior JWT staffer.

Allegations like these are exactly why B&T has created events like Changing the Ratio and the Women in Media Awards, both of which champion women in our industry.

B&T’s Changing the Ratio will provide attendees with game-changing ideas, practical tools and case studies to take back to their organisations. So to see captivating and inspiring speakers like Lisa Wilkinson, Deng Thiak Adut and Cátia Malaquias, grab last minute tickets to this event right here.

And our annual Women in Media Awards will recognise exceptional women who’ve achieved astronomical success in the media and communications industry. Get started on entries here and get your hands on tickets here!

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