The interviews conducted with Greek journalists on gender equality brought to light very different responses, varying based on the gender of the responder, with gender proving to be an important factor in whether one acknowledged the existence of such issues. Usually, male journalists said there were no issues of gender equality, whereas some even argued that women were more privileged than their male counterparts. However, the accounts given by women journalists reflected a very different image. They highlighted the fact that although women were employed en masse, they faced the problem of climbing to top positions, and also of income inequalities based on gender. The main issue, however, is that the Greek media do not acknowledge the existence and insistence of gender issues, and therefore, there are no rules to address them.
When asked about gender issues, most male journalists responded in the same manner as the one noted here: “There has not been an issue of equality between men and women. Each journalist has the same treatment regardless of gender”. That could be true regarding how journalists are treated within newsrooms in general, but it’s not true regarding the general progress of women’s careers within a media organisation. Additionally, women interviewees pointed out a very different experience compared with their male colleagues. “Let me answer that politely because that’s an issue. No there’s no equality. It is a man’s world”, one of them said. Another female editor-in-chief gave one of the best examples of how women have problems in climbing the hierarchy in the profession of journalism:
I have worked in five biggest media companies in the country. It is unbelievable that in all five of them, women are simply lacking. There is a huge difference and they face a lot of racism. I told you there is no woman director and there never has been one.
The situation of gender equality in Greek media can be summarised as one of lack of knowledge, since there is a complete lack of any formal framework to address these issues.
