JUST IN: Media industry lags behind in gender equality

gender-equality

Paidamoyo Chipunza and Shamiso Yikoniko in Nairobi, Kenya

The global media industry still lags behind in promoting gender equality both in news coverage and within their structures, World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) media development director Ms Melaine Walker has said.

Addressing media house chief executives, editors and senior journalists attending this year’s WAN-IFRA Africa summit taking place in Nairobi, Kenya, yesterday, Ms Walker said:

“Less than 10 percent of news stories focus on women globally while only 17 percent of women in news were in leadership positions from the world’s 100 largest media corporations.”

She added that WAN-IFRA, through its Women in News (WIN) programme launched in 2010, has managed to capacitate more than 500 media women to take up leadership positions while media partners are increasingly appreciating the promotion of gender equality in their newsrooms. Gender and Media Connect (GMC) director Ms Abigail Gamanya said these statistics were not any different in the Zimbabwean situation but was quick to point out that slowly, progress was being made. Ms Gamanya noted a positive portrayal of women in news coverage.

She however said more could be done since men continue to occupy majority of the leadership positions in the newsrooms. She the GMC was engaging media owners to change this imbalance.

“It seems there has been a sudden realisation by media owners that it makes business sense to include diversity in the way they handle operations and as such we’re beginning to see a sizable number of women now making it to leadership positions,” said Ms Gamanya.

Zimbabwe Newspapers chief executive Mr Pikirai Deketeke said Zimpapers had also made significant strides in promoting gender equality within its structures. Mr Deketeke said these strides were reflected in the news content across all the organisations’ platforms.

“We have fared well as an organisation in terms of promoting gender equality within our structures and this has also been reflected in our coverage of women’s issues,” said Mr Deketeke.

He commended the WIN programme for capacitating media managers and senior reporters at Zimpapers. WAN-IFRA President Mr Michael Golden said gender equality was the future of the media industry. He said in today’s digital era, all media are searching for more engagement with larger audiences to sustain journalism, hence the need for diversity.

“Every society has 50 percent or more of women and yet women are not represented in management, not adequately represented in our newsrooms, in our advertising sales and there is no surprise that they are not represented in our products. And if they are not represented in our products why do we think that these women would want to read, view and listen to our products?” said Mr Golden.

He said it was for this reason that WAN-IFRA was pushing for gender equality in newsrooms both in the news and organisational structures.

“That’s the fundamental reason that this topic is very important to the future of our business.”

Over 120 participants from eight countries in East, Central and Southern Africa took part in the WIN Africa Summit which ran under the theme: “Reshaping media leadership”.

The WIN programme is aimed at capacitating female journalists to become better managers through mentoring, nurturing and skills development.

 

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