The Drum Beat 467 - Women Journalists: The State of Their Art
This issue of the Drum Beat focuses on women as active news creators/communicators - not as the "subjects" of journalistic reporting. Even as the very boundaries of what constitutes "news media" are being reshaped due to the expansion of citizen journalism with the advent of new technology-enabled communication modes, the question of women's role in "traditional" news media worldwide remains a live one. Below you will find a snapshot of how women are faring in this profession, as well as some strategies and initiatives that have been developed to enhance their presence and power in making and conveying information. The second half of the issue highlights ways in which women have made inroads in one particular medium for communicating the news: radio.
- Highlight on a new MEDIA DEVELOPMENT SITE.
- Women Making Media: THE SITUATION.
- Vote in our current MEDIA DEVELOPMENT POLL.
- WOMEN AND RADIO: Women's Voices Come Through.
- Recent BLOG posts on Media Development.
...where media rights, freedoms, capacities, and diversity are central to humanity...
This is a new space, developed in collaboration and with support from CI Partner Panos London, which includes recent media and media development initiatives including programme activities, awards, evaluation and research results, networks, books and other materials, planning ideas, change theories, and other information recently placed on The Communication Initiative website.
Please visit the new Media Development Theme Site: click here.
STUDYING THE SITUATION: WOMEN MAKING MEDIA
1. Stats and Studies: The International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF)
A growing online list of resources compiled from IWMF publications and other studies and reports documenting the opinions of women journalists, examine how women are portrayed in the media, and measure how many women work in the worldwide media and what types of jobs they hold. For example, one study summarised here, which was conducted among 46% regional press in India and about 54% English press, showed that women journalists in this country are often assigned art and culture or fashion beats, and not other topics, based on their organisation's concern that they won't be able to work night shifts. 20.5 percent of respondents said they were discriminated against for promotion, of which 45.5% felt was because of their sex. 29.2 percent responded that having children affected promotion. Sexual harassment, age discrimination, and whether they were under- or overqualified were listed as other factors hindering women's upward mobility in their organisations.
2. Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) - Global
Organised by the Media and Gender Justice Programme of the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC), GMMP is a grassroots research, communication, and advocacy project designed to promote gender equality in the media. Held every 5 years, it involves gender and communication activists in countries all over the world engaging in a one-day endeavour to monitor gender portrayal and representation in the news on television, radio, and in newspapers. The monitoring data submitted to WACC from across the world are then analysed for patterns of gender portrayal in the news. The results of this media monitoring, as well as an illustration of any changes in gender representation and portrayal in the world's news since the previous studies, are then published in global, regional, and national reports (and made available online). Gender and media groups in participating countries use the GMMP results as a tool for national advocacy work, as well as for training and awareness-raising initiatives. For example, in Jamaica, Women's Media Watch (WMW) has used GMMP results and reports as part of their ongoing training sessions with trainee communications personnel at the Caribbean Institute for Media and Communication.
Contact: Sarah Macharia SM@waccglobal.org OR info@waccglobal.org
3. Gender and Media: Pakistan Perspective
by Tasneem Ahmar This article suggests that the media profession has, traditionally, been a male-dominated one in Pakistan (and, according to the author, around the world). Women are underrepresented in the media due to low hiring rates and sexual discrimination in the workplace. Further, they are excluded from the kind of power to make decisions about media portrayal that those at the top rungs of the media ladder often enjoy; for instance, no woman has ever been Editor of an Urdu newspaper. The late working hours required in this profession carry a social stigma for women, and the denial of their "right to cover hard news discourages them from pursuing careers in journalism." The inclusion of more women's voices in, and their empowerment to make key decisions about, Pakistan's media would, Ahmar urges, help foster "women's right to participate in public debates and to have their views heard, and the right to see themselves portrayed in the media in ways that accurately represent the complexities of their lives."
4. A Media Minority - Women Journalists in Assam
by Nava Thakuria According to this [June 2005] article, women journalists are in the "media minority" in Assam, India. "Only 15 per cent of print journalists in Assam are women. Guwahati has only 50 full-time women scribes, of whom just 20 work as reporters, and five young freelance photojournalists. Barely 10 exist in the rest of Assam." In its over 100 years of existence, the state's leading daily (The Assam Tribune) has never had a woman editor. Apparently, newspaper proprietors prefer not to hire women journalists; when female applicants are hired, they are assigned mostly to desk jobs. One reason: Proprietors do not think women reporters can cover conflict-hit areas. The National Commission for Women's 2004 report Status of Women Journalists in India confirms that most women journalists do not get promoted beyond the level of a senior reporter or senior sub-editor. Several women journalists in Assam have alleged that their male colleagues sexually harass them.
5. Women Make the News - Global
According to the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), "Progress of women journalists' careers is still hampered by lingering stereotypes and subtle discrimination. Women journalists continue to face substantial obstacles to full participation in the newsroom - particularly in terms of management opportunities." In response, UNESCO launched an annual campaign in 2000 to encourage media managers to give fair consideration to female newsroom staff in terms of assignments, positions, and career development opportunities. Each year, in honour of the International Day of Women (March 8), UNESCO works in conjunction with the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) to bring attention to the fact that (according to UNESCO), although women journalists are increasingly present in numbers in both electronic and print media, not enough women rise above the "glass ceiling" to key editorial and leadership positions. This global operation to promote gender equality in the media draws largely on an interactive website designed to encourage news media to give editorial responsibility to women editors and journalists on International Women's Day, and beyond. The stories that are collected and shared online are intended to provide practical examples that organisers believe will inspire others and raise the visibility of the role women play in the news as correspondents, as newsmakers, and as valuable and authoritative sources of information.
Contact: Iskra Panevska i.panevska@unesco.org
A Report in Search of Answers and Proposals for Ways Forward by Ruth Ayisi and Birgitte Jallov This qualitative study, carried out by UNESCO, recommends 6 basic areas that, if implemented, could enhance the advancement of gender within media houses and in media output. Among them: address the cultural barriers for women entering into journalism (this includes the development and use of communication materials on television, radio, and in schools); attract more women candidates of high quality (this includes supporting internships, organising writing competitions, and setting up talks in schools); create more incentives (this includes supporting training for journalists, supporting English classes and internships, and sponsoring women journalists to take part in conferences); and support media organisations to develop a gender policy (this includes running workshops for editors and senior women journalists).
by Deborah Walter (Ed.) One article in this journal, titled "Making Every Voice Count: a Southern Africa Case Study", describes the work and partnerships of Gender Links and the Gender and Media Southern Africa (GEMSA) network that it hosts. Strategies for change include: empowering women journalists; creating alternative media for women’s voices to be heard, particularly low-cost internet and email-based media; organising consumer protests and boycotts, especially against offensive advertising; and seeking to bring about gender balance in the institution of the media as well as in its editorial content.
- Pakistan From September 2003-2004, Uks undertook a project with the intention of developing a gender-conscious code of ethics for print media. One focus of the document that emerged is the importance of rectifying under-representation of women in professional media roles: "Short term as well as long-term goals need to be outlined for achieving gender equilibrium in the newspaper workplaces. As a short-term goal, newspaper owners/editors should be urged to include 1/3rd women in their offices." In addition, the "[w]ork environment of newspaper offices needs to be made conducive for women journalists. In this regards, there is a need to strictly implement a sexual harassment code in all newspaper offices." Another example: "Women journalists should be made to cover a variety of issues and not merely be relegated to covering women-oriented issues."
Contact: Tasneem Ahmar uks@comsats.net.pk OR tasneemahmar@yahoo.com
9. Center for Media Studies and Peace Building (CEMESP) - Liberia
In August 2007, CEMESP held a workshop entitled "Preparing Women for Leadership Roles in the Liberian Media." As part of this effort, 30 participants were selected from the print and electronic media and mass communications departments of the University of Liberia, African Methodist Episcopal University, and the United Methodist University. Topics addressed at the workshop included: female media makers in democratic societies, women in media and leadership, reporting gender and development issues, balancing family and work, managing change, media law and ethics, news writing, and interviewing techniques. The participants adopted a resolution through which they called for institutional policies that would encourage "women leadership" in the media, amongst other calls to action.
Contact: cemesp@cemesp-liberia.org /centerforpeacebuilding@yahoo.com OR
Malcolm W. Joseph malcolmjoseph2000@yahoo.com / malcolmj@cemesp-liberia.org
OR Calixte S. Hessou calixtehessou@yahoo.com
10. Community Radio Initiators Ready to Run the Stations Soon in Bangladesh
by AHM. Bazlur Rahman The Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC) organised a daylong training workshop on "Community Radio: How to Get Started and Keep Going in Bangladesh" on August 27 2008. The fourth working session focused on a paper on "Gender Relations and Development in Community Radio Operation". Participants discussed the paper's proposed gender policy in community radio, which centres around women's access to the airwaves, women's representation on air, special needs of minority women, women's representation at all levels of station management, use of appropriate technology and funding, and capacity building for women's radio. Among the recommendations of the policy: training for women, use of free and open source software, a quota of at least 30% for women's leadership and representation, and special radio programmes for women. The policy also suggested more practical measures such as space allotment for childcare, flexible working hours, women-friendly equipment set-up and broadcast schedules, adequate lighting and security at the station, and transportation arrangements for women who live in remote areas.
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WOMEN RIDE THE AIRWAVES: RADIO INITIATIVES
According to this report, rural women are rarely heard in the media; even more rarely do they actually have the opportunity to create media. The Rural Women Reporting project was developed to both produce programmes that speak to the issues rural women face, and to empower those who participated through skills and confidence-building to support ways to make their voices heard. For instance, participants (7 women, 1 man) in South Africa decided to create individual features following workshops that covered not only how to make audio programmes, but also how to interview and conduct research. In addition, a reporter from a national newspaper came to speak with the participants about rural women's issues. This process resulted in 8 programmes of varying lengths in both English and isiZulu covering topics such as young women and employment, teenage pregnancy, child-headed households, women and inheritance rights, polygamy, grandmother and grandchildren, forced/arranged marriages, and evictions from the marital home. The programmes were made available to local radio stations and places where people gather, and were distributed over the internet as podcasts.
12. Democracy over the Airwaves: Observatorios de Transgresión Feminista in Nicaragua
by Alejandra Bergemann and Lisa VeneKlasen This article describes the work of a group of women in Nicaragua who felt that their voices weren't being heard as critical elections neared in late 2006. Through live broadcast and simultaneous webcast in Spanish and English, women "bore witness to their experiences of repressive laws and their efforts to monitor the integrity of putting forth candidates, voting and ballot counting during elections....When a crisis occurs on a local level, the call for solidarity is put out through the communications network and people and resources are mobilized. Radio and internet technologies allow testimony-givers to transcend the boundaries of geography and engage non-locals as virtual observers, building solidarity and increasing the scope and numbers of those who bear witness..." In short, this is an effort to give women the opportunity to collectively voice their vision for their country and tell the stories that define their political solidarity.
13. Da Pulay Poray - Afghanistan, Pakistan
Broadcast since 2005 in the remote mountainous region along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Da Pulay Poray ("On the Borderline") is a weekly radio programme that tackles thorny issues such as sectarian conflict, forced marriages, and the tribal tradition of providing safe haven for militants hiding from the law. Internews claims that "[i]t is one of the first to address women's issues – using women journalists – in an extremely conservative region."
Contact: John Butt john.butt@internews.org
14. Solar Radios for Women in South Kivu - Democratic Republic of the Congo Initiated by Dimitra (a project of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) working on gender, rural women, and development) and its local partner Sauti ya Mwanamke Kijijini (SAMWAKI), this initiative involves the distribution of solar radios to listeners' clubs and women's networks in 8 rural districts within the province of South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Organisers trained listeners' clubs and women's groups on the technical aspects of using the solar radios – how to tune them, adjust the volume, and change the frequency, as well as how to charge them, either with solar power or with a mechanical crank. Under these women's supervision, each of the groups rotates the radio amongst its members so that each member has the opportunity to use the radio and listen with their family, friends, and communities. According to the organisers, the availability of radios and the fact that women are in charge has made a significant difference in the lives of women and men in these communities.
Contact: Adeline Nsimire samwakiasbl@yahoo.fr OR dimitra@dimitra.org
15. To Give Life and Live - Côte d'Ivoire
This reproductive health initiative was developed by a group of 20 women journalists in the Ivory Coast who are part of La Cellule Féminine des Média contre le SIDA en Côte d’Ivoire (CFMS-CI). These women are using their skills - and their connections within the media in the country - to disseminate reproductive health and HIV/AIDS messages to other women, and to explore new ways to reach out to their intended audience. Using what they intend to be frank, simple language that can be easily understood, they write articles and broadcast radio spots on various issues related to HIV/AIDS. They then meet in smaller groups with local women to foster dialogue on, and the raising of questions about, the articles they have written or reports they have given.
Contact: Bakayoko Zéguéla zeguelag@yahoo.fr
16. Uks Radio Project - Pakistan
Run by an all-female team of journalists and broadcasters, the Uks radio production house aims to rectify stereotypical and discriminatory societal attitudes through media. To prepare these women for their radio work, Internews offered Uks a 3-day training session that involved hands-on, practical demonstration of radio production techniques. One programming example is "Pani ki Kahani, Aurat ki Zubani", produced in collaboration with Panos, which was based on issues of and around water and women, such as water and migration, water and women's employment, mobility, water and the workload of women, hygiene, health (especially unsafe drinking water), and water-related natural disasters.
Contact: Tasneem Ahmar uks@comsats.net.pk OR tasneemahmar@yahoo.com
17. Today You Will Understand: Women of Northern Uganda Speak Out
This is a collection of 16 transcribed audio testimonies from women living in areas affected by the war between Ugandan government forces and the Lord's Resistance Army in Northern Uganda. Members of FEMRITE, the Uganda Women Writers Association, interviewed the women in January 2008, as part of a radio project with Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) Radio. These true stories aim to reveal how war has impacted on the lives of ordinary women, many of whom were displaced from their communities and now survive in camps for the internally displaced. The booklet of transcribed testimonies is accompanied by an audio CD of the actual interview recordings, originally broadcast on local radio stations.
See Also:
18. Making Waves: KIRITIMATI RADIO
19. Radio Bubusa - Democratic Republic of the Congo
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This issue was written by Kier Olsen DeVries.
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