For Women, It’s Past Time to Be Seen

Of all female-led households in 2020, more than half are led by women 50-64 years old and last year they spent nearly $800 million across 25 categories, compared to $608 million for women 18 – 34 and $680 million for women 35 – 49. They are caretakers and breadwinners, with 62% of Hispanic women, 59% of Native American women and 61% of Black women over 50 being the grandparent of a child under 18. Not quite ready for retirement, these economic contributors showed an 11% increase in the past two years, taking jobs with at least 20 hours a week.

Yet women over the age of 50, who represent 20% of the population, the share of time on-screen is just 8%. That means women over 50 are 60% less likely to see themselves in programming and when they are included on-screen, they typically play stereotypical matriarchal and motherly roles. Advertisers should pay attention because women of color and 50+ are key drivers of weekly NFL ratings, talent competitions and primetime dramas with Black female leads. Plus they’re tech savvy. Women 50+ increased their internet-connected device usage during primetime by 51% year-over-year in January 2021.

Black consumers are the largest ethnic group watching live TV, playing video games, streaming audio and consuming media across devices. Yet, Black women are being left off the screen. Compared to their population estimates, women are underrepresented across broadcast and cable. A deeper look at the reality, news and weather, drama and comedy genres shows that across all black women were underrepresented. What’s more is that the narratives surrounding women of color most commonly include themes of dysfunction, emotional, personal relationships, suspenseful, challenging, melodramatic, police, murder, cities and pursuits.

As Black women look to find themselves and role models for their children on screen, especially during a time of intense social activism, they’re leaning into the stories that reflect their reality most accurately. It is critical to expand the roles of Black women and Black men because storytelling helps to educate, and education helps change stereotypes.

When the pandemic hit and sent many workers home, it impacted women disproportionately. While many companies worked to accommodate their workers, women were disproportionately dealing with caretaking, childcare and homeschooling responsibilities, managing the “always on” culture, and fighting burnout. As the pandemic wears on, many of these challenges continue to loom large. The 2020 Women in the Workplace study states suggest that these COVID-related challenges could cause as many as two million women to leave the workplace. Gracenote Inclusion Analytics shows that women already make up more than have of adults who are temporarily employed.

In June 2020, a Nielsen survey of employees working from home showed that nearly a quarter of women, 23%, felt somewhat disengaged or disengaged compared to just 15% of men. While many companies have put in place resources and policies to support employees during COVID-19, many of these same challenges have carried over to 2021. Companies have an impetus—perhaps now more than ever—to work to ensure that there are best-practices implemented to keep a diverse workforce engaged as a way to foster productivity.

Media coverage for regular league events heavily favors men’s sports. For example, a 2018 Nielsen Sports study found that the volume of media coverage of women’s sports across Europe ranged from as low as 2% to just 12% at peak times. This situation changes, however, during a two-week period every two years when the eyes of the world focus on the Olympics, the only global sporting event characterized by true gender parity. The balanced coverage during the Olympics is especially warranted when we look at interest levels in the Olympics. In fact, interest among females in the Winter Olympics is higher than overall interest in the games.