BBC America and Women's Media Center launch strategic alliance, kicking off with a proprietary research study on the impact of female representation

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New York, NY – AUGUST 27, 2018 – BBC AMERICA and WOMEN’S MEDIA CENTER have entered into a strategic alliance, with the goal of expanding both the diversity and representation of women in media. In the coming months, BBC AMERICA and WOMEN’S MEDIA CENTER will partner on initiatives to enrich, engage, and enlighten through proprietary analysis and content alliances as a way to spark change. The first partnership is a research study that will look at how depictions of women on screen impact young women and girls, with findings to be published later this year.

“The WOMEN’S MEDIA CENTER has an awesome mission - to ensure women’s voices are heard.  They have been doing extraordinary work in furthering this goal for many years,” said BBC AMERICA President and GM Sarah Barnett. “We at BBC AMERICA are beyond privileged to work with them to advance the ways in which women are represented in the stories we see on television, and a crucial part of this is who gets to tell the stories. Representation matters: if you can’t see her, you can’t be her. We are so proud to be engaged in an alliance that sets out to expand what can be seen.”

“These are times that call for sweeping and sustainable changes,” said Pat Mitchell, WOMEN’S MEDIA CENTER co-chair. “The WOMEN’S MEDIA CENTER’s work to shine a light on the status of women in Hollywood — and on all media platforms – is more important than ever. It is very heartening to walk this walk with a media leader like Sarah Barnett, president of BBC AMERICA. Ultimately, changes must come from those who hold the power, and we know that few, if any, power holders throughout history have given up power without a struggle. Which is why we are so grateful for the BBC AMERICA team and their strategic alliance with the WOMEN’S MEDIA CENTER to help elevate and amplify more women in media.”

The alliance with WOMEN’S MEDIA CENTER is part of BBC AMERICA’s recently launched “Galaxy of Women” initiative.  “Galaxy of Women” spotlights the phenomenal women across the network and connects with fans while highlighting the everyday powerhouse women and girls around us. From Orphan Black’s sestras to Killing Eve’s beloved assassin and spy, and the pioneering first female Doctor on Doctor Who – BBC AMERICA’s vibrant female universe allows audiences to ponder the possibilities of their own barrier-breaking opportunities of the future. The “Galaxy of Women” initiative aspires to change how we see women, how we listen to women, and how we experience them across media and culture to more accurately and authentically reflect the audience.

Founded in 2005 by Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem, the WOMEN’S MEDIA CENTER is an inclusive and feminist organization that works to ensure women’s realities are covered and women’s voices are heard. The Women’s Media Center Awards honor champions for women in media.  Our media programs encompass interconnected strategies that include researching and monitoring media, creating and modeling original online, print, podcast, and radio content, training women to be effective in media, and promoting media-experienced women experts in all fields to bookers, producers, and journalists. We are directly engaged with the media at every level to work toward a diverse group of women being present in newsrooms, on air, in print and online, in film, entertainment and theater – as sources and subjects, in bylines and credits, in the field and in the front office. WMC Reports investigate, document and create visualization of data and are picked up widely through digital media platforms, legacy media outlets, universities, research platforms and students in high school and college. These reports raise awareness of the challenges caused by the media and technology industries and culture that create and perpetuate unequal opportunities, images and representations of women, especially women of color. Notable recent research includes “The Status of Women of Color in the U.S. News Media 2018,” “The Status of Women in the U.S. Media 2017,” a gender analysis of non-acting nominations of the Oscars, and of the 2017 Primetime Emmy nominations for non-acting categories. Find out more by visiting womensmediacenter.com. 

Women’s Media Center on social – Twitter  - Facebook

BBC AMERICA is a hub of innovative, culturally contagious programming including the critically acclaimed series Killing Eve from Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the Emmy® and IDA-winning Planet Earth II, the acclaimed Planet Earth: Blue Planet II, and the forthcoming next chapter in the epic story of our planet, Dynasty (w/t), the top-rated science-fiction phenomenon Doctor Who, the ground-breaking unscripted series Top Gear, the buzzy and hilarious The Graham Norton Show, as well as Premier League Darts. A joint venture between BBC Studios (the commercial arm of the BBC) and AMC Networks, BBCA’s influential shows such as Orphan Black and Luther, among many others, have attracted critical acclaim and earned Emmy® Awards, Peabody Awards, Critics’ Choice Awards and Golden Globes®. Created in 1998, the irrepressible network has garnered one of cable’s most curious, educated and affluent audiences, with many properties boasting super-fan levels of engagement. Get caught up, BBCA offers full episodes On Demand across all major digital platforms, BBC AMERICA app and bbcamerica.com. Find out more by visiting press.bbcamerica.com.

BBCA on social:  YouTube – Twitter – Instagram – Facebook – Tumblr – Snapchat: BBCAmerica_TV

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For additional information contact:

MediaRelations@womensmediacenter.com and Katie.Lanegran@amcnetworks.com