Women's Representation in Israeli TV News Remains Low

A new report reveals that women constitute less than a quarter of visual presence in Israeli news and current affairs broadcasts during prime time, with their representation dropping to less than a fifth in studio panels. The study, conducted by the 5050 initiative, the Journalists' Association of Israel, and The Seventh Eye, analyzed 433 broadcasts across five TV channels: Kan 11, Channel 12, Channel 13, Channel 14, and i24NEWS, between August 15-31, 2026. Out of over 64,000 facial samples, men appeared more than three times as often as women. Kan 11 offered the highest representation of women at 34.3%, while Channel 14, described as a religious-Haredi channel broadcasting "fake news and government propaganda," had the lowest at 13.3%.

The disparity is particularly stark in studio panels, where men outnumbered women by more than four to one. In these segments, women accounted for only 19.4% of visual presence. Kan 11 led again in panels with 35.2% women, followed by Channel 13 with 30.6%. Channel 14 again lagged significantly, with only 10.2% women in its panels. Focusing on the main news broadcasts' panels, the situation worsened, with women making up just 18.7% of the visual presence. Channel 12's main broadcast panel had the highest percentage of women at 29%, while Channel 14's panel representation for women was a mere 6.5%.

Overall, in more than half of the 36 programs examined, women represented less than a quarter of the visual presence, and in 16 programs, less than a fifth. The report utilized AI and human analysis via the "Subtext" system to identify faces in sampled frames, reflecting estimated visual presence rather than speaking time or unique individuals. The 5050 initiative plans to continue monitoring these figures bi-weekly and will publish a comprehensive annual summary.