By: Rachel Kakraba
Gender Activists and Experts, have challenged media organizations particularly private ones to develop and implement a gender policy to combat gender inequalities and stereotypes within the media industry. They also emphasized the importance for journalists’ nationwide to come together to form a unified union which will demand gender responsive policies and accountability from employers.
These points were made during a dialogue with CSOs towards developing a strategic document to advance Gender Equality in the Media. The meeting was convened by the Media Foundation for West Africa, MFWA under its Equal Voices project which is a collaboration by the MFWA, and France’s Canal France International (CFI) to combat gender inequalities and stereotypes in the media in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.
The project also encourages managers of media outlets to promote better representation of women in managerial practices and editorial policies.
Speaking at the event, a lecturer, Department of Communication Studies, University of Ghana, Dr. Aurelia Ayisi, noted that a significant number of media organizations do not have policies that protect female journalists from sexual harassment which was worrying.
“We are finding that a significant number of media organizations, particularly the private ones do not have sexual harassment policies that protect their female journalists and the incidents of women journalists facing some form of sexual harassment while at work is rather high”
She said any policy developed to address the problem should be more intentional.
“Part of the conversation and the issues that have come out of these conversations is that existing policies need some form of intent. People being intentional so that the policy could live beyond the person who constituted it. This takes some form of gender awareness from whoever it’s within decision making process”
She regretted that gender issues have been misconstrued to be a women’s issue, noting gender related issues have implications on all the facets of life.
She stated that gender inequalities stifle progression of many women in the media industry to reach their full potential.
“Lack of transparency when it comes to promotion processes for which a lot of women are underpaid. The pathways to promotion are also not clear”
Dr. Ayisi, said promoting gender equality is a call for a balance within society so that all the genders live and enjoy the benefits.
Executive Director, Women, Media and Change (WOMEC) Dr. Charity Binka, encouraged women in the media to champion issues of gender equality in their media institution. This she said could inspire young journalists to do things differently which could better shape the future of journalism. She emphasized the importance of championing gender equality in the media, arguing that it would significantly influence how gender issues are portrayed and disseminated.
MFWA’s Programme Director for Media and Good Governance, Abigail Larbi, in an opening remark highlighted the importance of such initiatives within the media space which she said could empower both genders to thrive.
She explained that the second strategic dialogue centered on civil society organizations (CSOs), to gather their insights on promoting gender equality and strategies for closing the gender gap in the media.
Some recommendations that came up during the dialogue with CSO’s included the need to strengthen media/Civil Society Organizations collaboration, making the media active participants during programmes as well as the need for media organizations to have structures for reporting cases of gender related abuses. Others were being intentional about creating opportunities for women and consciously including women’s voices in content and at all levels of decision-making.
Women in the media are said to face a glass ceiling, rarely achieving senior positions. A 2020 report noted significant pay disparities and underrepresentation of women in leadership roles within media organizations.
The strategic dialogue with relevant stakeholders seeks to gather state and non-state stakeholders, including governance experts, academicians, civil society organizations, media associations, media experts, human rights experts, policymakers, etc., to develop a strategic document containing legislative, compelling, and incentive measures to advance gender equality in the media in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.
