On són les dones

On són les dones (OSLD) is a Catalan activist collective that analyses the presence of women in opinion spaces across Catalan media and denounces their absence, calling for expert women to be given a voice and heard. The initiative began in December 2013 when activist Liz Castro used the hashtag #onsonlesdones on Twitter to denounce the absence of women from opinion programmes. The hashtag spread, and a small group of women—eventually growing to around fifty of diverse ages, education levels, professions, and ideological positions—formed to create alliances and transform reality. Since June 2016, the collective has conducted daily counts of the gender composition of opinion spaces in Catalan media (print, digital, radio, and television), presenting periodic reports that highlight gender imbalance per outlet. They consider that the responsibility for remedy lies with the media themselves and public authorities, in compliance with legal provisions such as Law 17/2015 on effective equality between women and men. Through their Twitter account, they also denounce the lack of women in academia, politics, culture, and events. In January 2020, they filed a complaint with the Síndic de Greuges (Catalan Ombudsman), providing analysed data and denouncing not only the invisibility of women in opinion spaces but also institutional racism, noting that only 0.5% of voices were from racialised people. They also criticised the Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona City Council, and other Catalan administrations for continuing to grant subsidies, aid, and institutional advertising to media that do not comply with the law. In December 2020, Òmnium Cultural awarded the collective the Premi de Comunicació Muriel Casals 2020. The collective remains active, continuing its periodic counts and public advocacy.

The origin of the label dates back to December 2013, when activist Liz Castro used the hashtag #onsonlesdones on Twitter to denounce the absence of women from opinion programmes. Following her, many more voices emerged and the hashtag became widespread on the social network, spreading to others. This aimed to show the systematic invisibilisation of more than half the population and led to the birth of a small group of women, which grew to fifty of different ages, education levels, and professions, with diverse ideological positions but all active in different social causes, with the aim of creating alliances and transforming reality. From June 2016, united by the common cause of ending male overrepresentation in opinion spaces of Catalan media (print, digital, radio, and television), they began daily counting of the gender composition of opinion spaces, and on 28 July the founding manifesto of their initiative was presented. Periodically they have carried out counts, analysing opinion spaces of different media and presenting results as reports highlighting gender imbalance for each outlet. In February 2017 they convened a round table titled 'Women in media opinion spaces', with speakers Esther Vera (Ara newspaper), Karma Peiró (Nació Digital), Lídia Heredia (TV3), and Mònica Terribas (Catalunya Ràdio). Their work consists of analysing the problem, but they consider that the responsibility for remedy lies with the media themselves, as well as public authorities that must ensure effective equality of women and men also in the case of media, in compliance with legal provisions. Through their Twitter account, they echo the lack of women not only in media but also in academia, politics, culture, events, among others, extending the denunciation of discrimination against women. On Són les dones is part of the activism already initiated by other groups that preceded them in denouncing the invisibilisation of women in media, such as the Associació de Dones Periodistes de Catalunya (ADPC), and they feel part of the common struggle that different groups of women are carrying out around the world, such as Clásicas y Modernas in Spain, Hay Mujeres in Latin America, and Women Also Know Stuff in the Anglo-Saxon sphere. In January 2020, On Són Les Dones presented a complaint to the Síndic de Greuges, providing analysed data, and denouncing not only the invisibilisation of women in media opinion spaces but also institutional racism, since only 0.5% of voices are from racialised people. The group stresses not only the lack of parity in media but also the non-compliance with Law 17/2015 on effective equality between women and men, which in article 25 obliges parity and diversity in media opinion spaces. In this sense, the collective denounces that the Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona City Council, and other Catalan administrations continue to grant subsidies, aid, and reward with institutional advertising media that do not comply with this law. On 13 December 2020, Òmnium Cultural awarded the collective the Premi de Comunicació Muriel Casals 2020.

• 2020

  In January, the collective files a complaint with the Síndic de Greuges, denouncing invisibilisation of women and institutional racism; on 13 December, Òmnium Cultural awards the Premi de Comunicació Muriel Casals 2020.

• 2017

  In February, a round table titled 'Women in media opinion spaces' is held with speakers Esther Vera, Karma Peiró, Lídia Heredia, and Mònica Terribas.

• 2016

  From June, the collective begins daily counting of gender composition in Catalan media opinion spaces; on 28 July, the founding manifesto is presented.

• 2013

  Activist Liz Castro uses the hashtag #onsonlesdones on Twitter to denounce the absence of women from opinion programmes.

Activist collective advocating for gender parity and diversity in Catalan media opinion spaces.

1. 1On són les dones - Viquipèdiaca.wikipedia.org
2. 2On son les dones - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Official websiteonsonlesdones.cat