RESOLUTIONS
of the Delegates to "Who Calls The Shots?'
1991 International Conference on Women, Media and Advertising,
May 12 ~ 17, Manila, Philippines

To The Leaders of Public and Private Media

WHEREAS women carry tremendous responsibility for the well-being of their societies aside from their work with the family and in the home,

WHEREAS women make up 51 % of the world's population and more that 50% of the citizens of nearly every nation, and by, inference, 50% of the audience of all media,

WHEREAS stereotypes of women and men are outdated, unrealistic, and reinforce unbalanced power relationships,

WHEREAS women today have skill and expertise in any field and issue,

THEREFORE, in reflecting the reality of the world about us, all media should logically include major coverage of women in the public sphere. Specifically:

• Each radio and TV company, public or commercial, should prove its dedication to democracy by installing in accessible time slots regular women's programming devoted to information, discussion and analysis by women of all the issues of society. (Examples: Woman watch in the Philippines and Frauen-Fragen in Germany)
• Stations that already have such programs should increase existing programming, taking as a standard rule that women's time should have comparable time devoted to sports.

To Women In Media and In All Women's Organizations

WHEREAS in all parts of the world women experience unethical treatment in some or all of the media, and
WHEREAS no one is more capable of assuming responsibility for change than we women ourselves,
THEREFORE we urge women individually and collectively to examine existing codes of media ethics and ensure that these evolve and respond positively to women's issues and rights.

To Legislators and Policy making Bodies

WHEREAS it is internationally recognized that equal employment opportunities for women, especially in media and the rapidly changing communications technology, must be guaranteed, and 

WHEREAS it is crucial that women have access not only to jobs in media industries but also to training in media technology, so that we not only call the shots but also "make" the shots,

THEREFORE legislators and policymakers must be charged with the responsibility to establish laws and policies where these are not present to guarantee: 

• that equal employment opportunities are enforced by media management, which may include the setup of an internal review board;
• that training and education of both sexes on the feminist perspective in mass communication start in schools;
• that women be equally represented in technical training courses as trainers and participants;
• that training initiatives be directed toward nongovernmental organizations, grassroots organizations and women, with a commitment to diversify the distribution of women's media production; and
• that training institutions and broadcast organizations recognize the need for training, specially of women, to be supported by appropriate technology.

To Consumers, Media Outlets and Advertising
Agencies

WHEREAS the media are awash in advertisements that are offensive to and degrade women, and

WHEREAS women have the capability to organize into a vital force that can take direct action against offensive and degrading advertisements,

THEREFORE we encourage:

• media institutions, to turn down such advertisements; 
• consumers and women in media and advertising, to individually and collectively take issue against such advertisements, and to formulate real alternatives to advertising stereotypes;
• the Advertising Board of the Philippines, to include in its Code of Ethics a special section on the portrayal of women in advertisements according to guidelines prepared by women's groups; women, to form a strong consumer group that will demand participation in the Advertising Board's screening committee or will boycott offensively advertised products, and; 
• all sectors of the advertising industry, specifically the Advertising Foundation of the Philippines and its counterparts in other countries, to conduct an annual, nationwide competition for the best public: service advertisements that promote positive images of women. (Target launching date: March 8, 1992, International Women's Day)

To the Conference Organizers, Secretariat and Delegates

WHEREAS women of developed and developing nations need a continuing dialogue on alienation from control of technology, advocacy of affirmative action, and exchange of knowledge, based on respective realities, towards the desired end of establishing democratic media,

THEREFORE the Women's Media Circle International should be established as a formal institution, with conference participants as founding members and the Women's Media Circle, Inc. Manila as secretariat.
The objectives of the organizations are:

• to serve as a mechanism through which conference objectives, resolutions and recommendations can be followed up:
• to maintain international links and facilitate exchange of experiences;
• to gather and distribute current information on the issues tackled at the conference as well as information which help women in their campaigns to promote media change;
• to organize practical activities such as workshops and seminars once funding has been received; and
• to develop funding proposals to finance the above.

An advisory committee should be formed to support the secretariat and to promote the implementation of objectives. The committee will include representatives from all world regions and various activity sectors.We recommend that:

• the organization propose to the National Commission of Women to the United Nations that women and Media be a major agenda item at the United Nations Conference on Women to be held in 1995, and that the Philippine National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women take the lead in forwarding and pursuing this proposal;
• That the organization be responsible for networking among nongovernmental organizations to generate the necessary global support for this initiative; and
• that biennial international conferences on issues related to women and media be organized under the auspices of the organization; and that the next conference be held in 1993 in preparation for the 1995 UN conference.

To Women In Media, Particularly Decision makers

WHEREAS political systems are dictated by economic systems,

WHEREAS together these systems dictate values and ethics underlying media,

WHEREAS women's rights are fundamental human rights,

THEREFORE ways should be found to break down traditional distinctions in the media between "women's issues" and "mainstream issues," so as to ensure the inclusion of women's perspective in the definition and analysis of all issues in the communication field. A better balance should be sought to ensure the use of technology for the development of a better quality of life and not for the domination of countries and peoples. Women from developing nations should seek access to and acquire new technologies. We recommend:

• forging strong bonds of coalition among all women's organizations for the purpose of solidarity;
• continuing analysis and monitoring of media news and advertising and dissemination of our findings;
• initiation of dialogues with media owners and institutions to achieve equality of dissemination of women's media production and to reach agreements on adoption of guidelines that will include women journalists in the coverage of sex news stories such as rape, murder, abuse of women, incest, pornography and prostitution;
• prioritizing the feminist perspective in all discussions and activities within the UN system; and
• support and encouragement of women's participation, particularly at community levels in rural and urban depressed areas, in the communication system, as well as of women-owned and non-profit media which exist internationally (like the Women's International News-gathering Service, or WINGS, and Radio for Peace).