"Experts on Channel One": stepping up the presence of women experts on news shows

On Monday December 5 at TF1, over 180 experts from various fields, including economics, education, law enforcement, science and health, took part in a day aimed at boosting the representation of women experts on TV shows. The event featured the presence of Laurence Rossignol, French Minister of the Family, Children and Women's Rights.

The event was divided into three main parts:

- A conference entitled "Expertise in TV news: the role of women", in which TF1 group representatives and media experts discussed the representation of women experts on news shows,

- Media training workshops, boosting participants' skills in speaking in front of a public and cameras,

- Meetings with the experts and with journalists from TF1 and LCI, to talk about fields of expertise in which women remain under-represented on television.

Commenting, Gilles Pélisson, Chairman and CEO of the TF1 group, said: "I am very pleased we were able to organize this event, because it is vital to facilitating the presence of women experts in the media, and specifically on TV news shows. We are convinced that TF1 group channels need to represent a diverse society in which men and women feature equally and where expertise is not about sex but about work, knowledge and experience."

The event generated plenty of buzz on the social networks. Check the #TF1Expertes hashtag to find out what people had to say.