Percent of women who have weekly exposure to mass media Percent of women who have weekly exposure to mass media Definition: This indicator measures the total number of women aged 15-49 who report exposure to either radio, television, newspapers, or magazines at least once a week. The indicator is measured for television and radio. Evaluators may add questions regarding newspapers and magazines in addition to (though usually not instead of) television and/or radio. This indicator is calculated as: (Number of women ages 15-49 reporting exposure to radio or television at least once a week / Total number of women ages 15-49) x 100 Data Requirement(s): Information on the number of women 15-49 reporting exposure to radio or television at least once a week and the total number of women 15-49 surveyed. The DHS categorizes whether women have been exposed to radio, television, newspapers, or magazines as “at least once a week, less than once a week or not at all.” Data Source(s): Population-based survey such as the DHS or RHS (on selected surveys) Purpose: The mass media are one of the most important sources of information and exposure to new ideas, alternative role models, and non-kin-based power structures. The media play an even greater role in countries where women have low or no education, restricted freedom of movement, low levels of employment outside the home, or employment on the family farm. For men, too, the media are likely to be important, but perhaps less so than for women because men tend to have more alternative sources of information than do the women (i.e., they are more likely to be employed, educated, and able to move freely outside the home). Media exposure can be seen as a source of “empowerment” for women just as education is. In health and family planning research, women’s exposure even to a single source of media, especially if it is television, is a powerful predictor of attitudes, beliefs, and actions, even controlling for education (Westoff and Bankole, 1997). Related content Social and Behavior Change Communication Filed under: empowerment, Family Planning, FP, FP/RH, gender, Indicators, Reproductive Health, RH