New project looking at portrayal of farming women in Irish media

The portrayal of farming and rural women in the Irish media is the focus of a new research project by a Southeast Technological University (SETU) academic.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, the project’s lead, SETU postdoctoral researcher Muireann Prendergast, said the outcomes of the project will be media guidelines and training for farming women, as well as expanding academic knowledge in this area.

“We’re hoping practically to put together guidelines for journalists and also media training materials for women, to allow them to participate more in media.

“Also, to show them how to film themselves and to allow them to tell their own stories, really, that’s ultimately what we’re trying to do.

“Academically, as well, to bring attention to this topic. It’s really overlooked, the issue of these gender imbalances in how rural and ag women are represented. So we want to bring practical change, but also explore this academically,” she added.

Funding

The project, entitled Time to be seen: promoting gender balance in media discourses on agriculture and rural communities in Ireland, was awarded €8,278 in funding under Research Ireland’s 'New Foundations Programme'.

It aims to investigate and address the underrepresentation of women’s voices in media coverage of the agricultural sector and rural Ireland.

SETU will partner with the University of Limerick’s (UL’s) journalism school and Macra on the project. The development of the training resource is to be facilitated through the young farmer organisation’s SkillNet platform.

Inception

Speaking on how the project came about, Prendergast said the idea came to her because she is currently working on the 'Grass ceiling' project and has a background in media.

“I was a journalist for 10 years in Argentina. This just came to me really. I spotted gender imbalances in the newspaper coverage of particular events I was looking at.

“I thought this would be a really interesting way to bring together my background in journalism and the work I’ve been doing for the past two and a half years on the Grass ceiling project as well,” she said.

The Irish Farmers Journal took up an invitation to participate in a focus group alongside other media outlets as part of this project.

A second focus group on the experiences of agricultural women was held simultaneously.