This statement came out of the Beijing Conference in 1995. Yet today, we are still talking about the need for change.

The Beijing Platform set two objectives:

• to increase the participation and access of women to expression and decision making in and through the media and new technologies of communication
• to promote a balanced and non-stereotyped portrayal of women in the media
• the media greatly influence our opinions and how we view our place in society, but they also have the potential to perpetuate and reinforce negative and stereotypical images of both women and men.
• violent and degrading or pornographic images of women have a negative effect on women and their participation in society. Articles that reinforce women's traditional roles can be equally limiting.
• in most areas of the media, there is still a major lack of understanding of gender issues and why women's empowerment is so necessary. In many instances they do not provide a balanced picture of women's contributions to society in a changing world.
• gender sensitive media can equip women, particularly rural women, with the sort of information that can help them make better decisions about their lives.
• the media must be very careful about the messages that are going directly into peoples' homes and the language used in these messages.
• in news stories, professional women are often tagged with stereotypical labels for example, 'mother of three' or 'the wife of someone' A female Member of Parliament, or a woman in some other position of influence will often have her clothes and hair described in minute detail. The focus for her male colleagues will be on their achievements and not their physical appearance.

There is a long way to go before we can truly say that international media organisations have been gender sensitised.