British society sees itself through a predominantly old, white male gaze

The media is the mirror that society holds up to itself, it is through newspapers – online and off – that the first draft of history is created and power held to account. At Women in Journalism we believe that it is vital to the functioning of democracy that the mirror the media holds up to society provides a true reflection; we argue that because of the lack of diversity in British newspapers the lens is a distorted one, so society sees itself not as it is, but through a predominantly old, white male gaze. This puts half the population at a disadvantage and at its worst can put women – and of course people from different cultures and backgrounds – off entering public life.