A group that included Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, gathered on International Women’s Day to talk about how women and mothers are shown in both traditional media and social media, along with other topics.
The panel was part of the yearly SXSW (South by Southwest) event taking place until March 16 in Austin, Texas, and also featured Brooke Shields, a model and author, journalist Katie Couric, and sociologist Nancy Wang Yuen.
SXSW presents music, movies, and interactive media.
Meghan commented on a study about how mothers are depicted in the media, highlighting that working mothers are paid 62 cents for every dollar that working fathers receive.
The study was supported by the Archewell Foundation, a non-profit established by Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
“There’s a lot of work needed to support women and moms,” she said. “It feels almost like a punishment at a certain point when you‘re a mom juggling so much, caring so much, and wanting the best possible support.”
Yuen added that policymakers, rather than working mothers, are shaping policy affecting women and moms.
“We know that if they’re not actually having contact with folks. They’re deriving their ideas from television, from film, just subconsciously,” she said. “You know that’s not real, but that’s what you’re seeing. You’re seeing ‘Oh hey, everything’s great. Working moms, they’re just mostly at home, and men are the breadwinners.’”
“Advancing women’s rights advances society,” Yuen added. “When women work and receive equal pay, they make money and contribute to the economy.”
The panel also talked about the negative impact social media is having on women and girls.
Meghan mentioned she faced online “bullying and abuse” while pregnant with her two children and immediately after they were born.
“I keep my distance from it right now just for my own well-being,” she said. “You really wrap your head around why people would be so hateful. It’s not catty. It’s cruel.”
The conversation also covered the issue of women being treated differently from men as they age, as discussed by Couric and Shields. Shields, 58, remarked that Hollywood doesn’t know how to handle women actors as they grow older.
“At 58, you’re too old to be the ingenue, but you’re not quite the granny yet,” she said. “Find and ferret out the filmmakers who appreciate a woman over 40 … appreciate the life experience, the ‘we’ve raised the children, we’ve had the families, we’ve had businesses, we’ve had professional lives, we’ve left them, we’ve gone back to them.’ ”
