Broadcast and cable primetime newscasts are the most gender-equitable news platforms, while print newspapers and wire services are the least, according to a new analysis by the Women‘s Media Center, that found, overall, a continuing media gender gap.

The center did not look at local broadcast news, only cable and broadcast network primetime newscasts as well as print, wire services and some major internet sites.

The survey found an even 50/50 split of women and men among the anchors and correspondents on the prime time weekday network evening newscasts, but from their the equity meter headed in the wrong direction. Of the online news stories studied, 57% were by men and 43% by women. For wire services, 63% of the bylines were men and 37% women.

Print remained the most male-centric, with 69% of the stories by men and 31% by women. Among the most male top-heavy papers was the Los Angeles Times with 81% men to 19% women.

Among the evening news broadcasts, the survey found that the majority of newscasts anchored by women — CBS‘s Norah O’Donnell, CNN’s Erin Burnett, MSNBC‘s Joy Reid and PBS‘s Judy Woodruff — tended to have more women anchors, hosts, correspondents and reporters. The exception was Fox News Channel‘s The Story with Martha McCallum.

But the newscast with the least percentage of women anchors, hosts, correspondents and reporters was ABC's World News Tonight (anchored by David Muir) with 28%, followed by NBC Nightly News (anchored by Lester Holt) at 34%, then Fox News‘s The Story with Martha McCallum at 39%. The network newscast with the highest percentage of women was The ReidOut on MSNBC (anchored by Joy Reid) at 70%, to 30% men.

But while MSNBC had the most women on the network newscast side, it had the least on its website, with 88% of the stories by men and only 12% by women. CNN was the most balanced with 54% of the stories by women to 46% by men.

Overall the outlets, the most male-dominated category of reporting is on sports, with 87% of the stories on broadcast, cable, print and wires by men and 13% by women. But that gap is much narrower in broadcast and cable, with women reporting 40% of the sports stories and men 60%.

The survey was based on an analysis of 62,002 "pieces of news content" Jan. 1-March 31, 2021, collected from the top 14 newspapers by circulation, seven primetime newscasts on “major broadcast and cable networks” two newswires and seven “major” internet sites. The networks were ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN. The internet sites were CNN.com, HuffPost, Los Angeles Times, MSNBC, New York Times, The Washington Post and Vox.

Last week the nominations for the Oscars were announced. For the first time in history, a woman — Rachel Morrison (pictured) — was nominated for the best cinematography award (for Mudbound). Mary J. Blige was the first person nominated for both an acting performance and original song in the same year (also for Mudbound). Lady Bird, from Greta Gerwig, is the 13th film directed by a woman to be nominated for best picture.

Maybe 13 will be a lucky number for these women role models. I know I certainly hope so. But I also know that going forward we need more than luck — because there is still more work to do.

For too long, women in media have not had the same recognition or opportunities as their male counterparts. In the 90-year history of the Oscars, only one woman — Kathryn Bigelow — has ever won the award for best director. Moreover, not one woman of color has ever been nominated in the category.

Times’s up — in so many ways. Because this isn’t right. It’s apparent that while talent is equally distributed, opportunity is not.

From my seat at the Federal Communications Commission, I see this every day. In meetings and events in Washington and on the road, I can’t help but be reminded. The number of women in leadership roles in the communications sector I encounter is simply too few. The data prove it. While women hold just over half the jobs in the new economy, they hold less than a quarter of the jobs in all science, technology, engineering and math occupations.

In media and entertainment, women account for more than half of moviegoers, but in recent years they have been directors of less than 5 percent of the top-grossing films. Moreover, women represent less than 30 percent of the protagonists on screen.

Furthermore, in media and entertainment, this absence is important. Storytelling is an incredible power. What we see on the screens all around us tells us so much about how we see ourselves as individuals, communities and a nation. The absence of women and women of color — on and off screen — is striking.

So when Oscar night rolls around, we can and should cheer for the almost unprecedented number of women up for awards. We owe it to them — and the many women who wish to follow in their wake — to do more than offer our applause. That means doubling down on incubators, projects and pipelines to build a more diverse future.

But it’s just as important to consider what can be done right now to bulk up the number of women with opportunities to act, write, edit, create, produce and direct. It’s a task everyone can commit to because the adage is true: If she can see it, she can be it. Because while the slate of nominees this year reflects real progress, we still have more work to do.

Jessica Rosenworcel is an FCC commissioner. Follow her on Twitter at @JRosenworcel. Photo of Rachel Morrison on the set of Mudbound by Steve Dietl/Netflix.