The third ‘Women on Air’ conference
This was followed by a third conference in 2018 with keynote speakers Margot James, then Secretary of State at the DCMS, Nicky Morgan, former Minister for Women, and Emily Thornberry, Shadow Home Secretary. Speakers included Ade Rawcliffe, ITV Head of Diversity, Deborah Williams of Skillset with Vikki Cooke from Ofcom, Ros Atkins from the BBC’s 50/50 project, and Andrew Chowndes from the Director’s Guild. The ratio of men experts to women experts had dropped to 2.3 -1, on par with female expertise in society.
Ratio of male to female experts:
| 2016 – 2017 | 2017 – 2018 | |
|---|---|---|
| Sky News | 2.8 to 1 | 2.4 to 1 |
| ITV News at Ten | 2.6 to 1 | 2.5 to 1 |
| BBC News at Ten | 2.7 to 1 | 3.1 to 1 |
| BBC Radio 4 Today | 2.2 to 1 | 2.3 to 1 |
| Channel 4 News | 2.5 to 1 | 2.0 to 1 |
| Channel 5 News | 1.6 to 1 | 1.5 to 1 |
| Overall | 2.2 to 1 | 2.3 to 1 |
But for many delegates, a highlight was the editors panel when editors pledged to do more to ensure the fair representation of women experts, and praised the Expert Women project.
