On November 25, 2023, the second MeDi-B’AI Symposium titled “Media and Diversity: Have Women’s Voices Reached the Media?” took place at the Daiwa Ubiquitous Computing Research Building on the Hongo Campus. This symposium was organized to review the six years of activities of the Media and Diversity Forum (MeDi), established in 2017, and to reassess its achievements.

In her opening remarks, Professor Kaori Hayashi, Chair of the MeDi and the Executive Vice President of the University of Tokyo, highlighted the societal importance of journalism and discussed the discrimination, inequality, and harmful effects brought about by traditional male-centric journalism. She emphasized the need to address gender gaps at the organizational level and promote gender diversity.

The first part of the symposium was moderated by journalist Keiko Hamada, and the presenters were Shiro Nakamura, President and CEO of the Asahi Shimbun Company, and Yayoi Nakatani, Board Director of TBS Television, who each delivered reports on the initiatives and achievements within their respective companies. Next, Hanako Kishida, Chairperson of the Japan Federation of Commercial Broadcast Workers’ Unions, explained the current status and challenges of the gender gap in Japan’s media industry. Additionally, Toko Shirakawa, Project Professor at Sagami Women’s University, provided an international perspective on the situation in the media industry. The overall discussion focused on the importance of democracy and human rights awareness as the foundation for women’s social participation.

In the second part, Yuiko Fujita, Associate Professor in the Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies served as the moderator. The presenters addressed various topics during their presentations: Associate Professor Misook Lee of Otsuma Women’s University discussed issues of gender discrimination and sexual violence in media culture, particularly focusing on the problematic representation and objectification of women; Professor Shintaro Kono of Senshu University talked about popular feminism and popular misogyny in the context of the third and fourth waves of feminism. III Professor and B’AI Global Forum Director Yuko Itatsu presented on the subject of gender representation in AI robots and its potential impact on the widening gender gap in the real world. The discussions covered a wide range of challenges specific to the digital media era.

Finally, essayist Keiko Kojima and Associate Professor Renge Jibu of the Tokyo Institute of Technology gave a report titled “A Review of MeDi Activities and Future Challenges.” The symposium concluded with closing remarks by Professor Tohko Tanaka of the III.

〈LINKS〉
PR website of the symposium: https://www.medi-gender.com/symposium-20231125/

Text: Yunfan Mao (Master’s Student) & Kayoung Kim (Project Researcher)
Photo: Kyosuke Yamamoto (PhD Student)
English Proofreading: David Buist (Project Senior Specialist)