On 2nd December we will be launching the report:

Monitoring the Presence and Representation of Women in Science, Engineering and Technology Occupations in UK Based Online Media Read the full story

The film Easy A addresses the sexual double standard head on. Read the full story

At the start of the new school or academic year, UK broadcaster the BBC, in its wisdom, has decided to present a ‘school season’ in television programmes about the challenges of schooling and, of course, the focus was either gender-blind or specifically about boys! There are 4 programmes – Unequal Opportunities, Excluded, Britain’s Youngest Boarders and Gareth Malone’s Extraordinary school for boys – that bear comment. Read the full story

Earlier this month Big Brother UK came to the end of its 11th and final year on television station Channel 4. I for one will mourn its passing. As a sociologist the chance to observe people talking, cooking, eating, sleeping, drinking and playing games together, making friends and falling out, was compelling. Read the full story

The influence of TV on viewers’ engagement with Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) was the focus of a recent conference held in Berlin. The conference was organised by Project MINTiFF, a project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the European Social Fund. The Federal Ministry is concerned about representations of gender roles on German TV, particularly those aimed at young people. In Germany, as in the UK, there is concern about the numbers of young people, particularly girls, who are interested in STEM, and so this project is exploring whether and how positive educational messages about STEM can and should be included in German TV dramas and how they can be made to appeal to girls in particular. Read the full story