‘Value’ and women’s work in broadcasting.

Abstract

Researching the history of women's labour history in broadcasting raises questions not just about women’s contribution to media productions, organisations and industries, but how their labour has been valued. This special issue explores women's work in radio and television in Europe, India and the United States of America. The focus here is on broadcast media which is often undervalued in comparison to film. The articles highlight the diversity of women’s roles over time, including executives, producers, technicians, make-up, and wardrobe. The role of unions and other organisations also are important to determining women's worth in the workplace. In this special issue, the Motion Picture Costumers union and the International Council of Women feature in considering how women understood their professional and collective identity and promoted their value to the public. Key themes in the issue also include women's opportunities in niche programming streams including youth and children's television, and Irish language broadcasting. The articles demonstrate that women's value was, and remains, in flux and is circumscribed by marital and maternity status, institutional hierarchies and public prestige.