Author: Kwanele Sibanda
Publish: 18 August 2009
A report of a study called “Glass Ceilings: Women and Men in Media” conducted by Southern African NGO Gender Links, has shown vast disparities in gender inequality across 14 SADC countries, with the number of women lagging behind their counterparts within the region's media houses, the study's executive summary states.
The study was conducted on 126 media houses in countries that included Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi, Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Madagascar and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Excluded from the report was Angola.
Released early August 2009 by Gender Links, the report points to the fact that the media is still difficult terrain for women work-wise. It reveals that men are still dominant in the industry with only South Africa and Lesotho having met the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development adopted in August 2008, which calls for parity in all areas of decision-making by 2015.
Lesotho has 73 percent women compared to 27 percent men employed by media houses, while South Africa has a 50/50 balance. In Seychelles, 49 percent of employees in media are women. However, the reports points out that the figures need to be read in context. Lesotho's media has a government ministry with a high proportion of women.
In the case of South Africa, the figures were not disaggregated by race due to the regional nature of the study. The 2006 Glass Ceiling report on South Africa's newsrooms showed that black women, who constitute 46 percent of the population, account for only 18 percent of the staff.
In newsrooms, male journalists are more likely to cover "hard beats" such as investigative or in-depth reporting (80 percent), sports (76 percent) and politics (75 percent). Women, on the other hand, cover things like gender equality (71 percent), gender violence (71 percent) and health (59 percent), according to the study.
Four countries are below the one third mark: Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi and the DRC. Zimbabwe figures did not include the state-owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) which declined to participate.
The study reveals, for the first time, a comprehensive picture of women and men in media in Southern Africa. The average regional aggregate is 41 percent for women in the media. Francis Mdlongwa, Director at the Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership at Rhodes University, says: "The percentage is respectable; however when South Africa is taken out of the equation the figure falls to 32 percent."
The study, which forms part of a trilogy of regional studies conducted by Gender Links and partner organisations in the region, includes the Gender and Baseline Study of 2003 that analysed media content from a gender perspective and the Gender and Media Audience Study of 2005 that analysed audience reception and preferences from a gender perspective.
The Glass Ceilings' executive summary notes that the report builds on a pilot project undertaken by the South African National Editor's Forum (SANEF) in 2007, and completes the trilogy series by providing baseline data on the internal institutional make up and practices of the media from a gender perspective.
To view executive summary go to:http://www.genderlinks.org.za/item.php?i_id=216
Publish: 18 August 2009
A report of a study called “Glass Ceilings: Women and Men in Media” conducted by Southern African NGO Gender Links, has shown vast disparities in gender inequality across 14 SADC countries, with the number of women lagging behind their counterparts within the region's media houses, the study's executive summary states.
The study was conducted on 126 media houses in countries that included Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi, Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Madagascar and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Excluded from the report was Angola.
Released early August 2009 by Gender Links, the report points to the fact that the media is still difficult terrain for women work-wise. It reveals that men are still dominant in the industry with only South Africa and Lesotho having met the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development adopted in August 2008, which calls for parity in all areas of decision-making by 2015.
Lesotho has 73 percent women compared to 27 percent men employed by media houses, while South Africa has a 50/50 balance. In Seychelles, 49 percent of employees in media are women. However, the reports points out that the figures need to be read in context. Lesotho's media has a government ministry with a high proportion of women.
In the case of South Africa, the figures were not disaggregated by race due to the regional nature of the study. The 2006 Glass Ceiling report on South Africa's newsrooms showed that black women, who constitute 46 percent of the population, account for only 18 percent of the staff.
In newsrooms, male journalists are more likely to cover "hard beats" such as investigative or in-depth reporting (80 percent), sports (76 percent) and politics (75 percent). Women, on the other hand, cover things like gender equality (71 percent), gender violence (71 percent) and health (59 percent), according to the study.
Four countries are below the one third mark: Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi and the DRC. Zimbabwe figures did not include the state-owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) which declined to participate.
The study reveals, for the first time, a comprehensive picture of women and men in media in Southern Africa. The average regional aggregate is 41 percent for women in the media. Francis Mdlongwa, Director at the Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership at Rhodes University, says: "The percentage is respectable; however when South Africa is taken out of the equation the figure falls to 32 percent."
The study, which forms part of a trilogy of regional studies conducted by Gender Links and partner organisations in the region, includes the Gender and Baseline Study of 2003 that analysed media content from a gender perspective and the Gender and Media Audience Study of 2005 that analysed audience reception and preferences from a gender perspective.
The Glass Ceilings' executive summary notes that the report builds on a pilot project undertaken by the South African National Editor's Forum (SANEF) in 2007, and completes the trilogy series by providing baseline data on the internal institutional make up and practices of the media from a gender perspective.
To view executive summary go to:http://www.genderlinks.org.za/item.php?i_id=216
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