Gender gap in media still a concern
Pini Bothoko | Tuesday December 13, 2022 06:00
Women in News (WIN) Leadership Mapping Report of 2022, which was carried out in 17 countries, confirmed there is a significant gender gap within the highest ranks of power in the media at top levels.
The research revealed that women make up only 10% of business leads in the countries WIN assessed, which covers the seats of CEO or board chairperson. On the editorial front, the report found that women make up just 31% of the editorial lead, which covers positions such as those of the editor-in-chief or executive editor.
WIN Deputy Executive Director and Africa Director Jane Godia revealed the outcomes at the recent Digital Skills Building and Networking for Botswana Women in Media workshop that was held at in Gaborone.
Godia said only nine percent of women hold business lead in Africa and about 33% of women are in editorial leadership. “Women in business lead in Botswana stand at eight percent and only 17% of them are in editorial leadership while Kenya holds zero percent for women in business lead and 33% for women in editorial lead.
Zambia and Zimbabwe stand at 20% and 12% respectively for women in business lead, while Zambia leads the region with women in editorial lead at 57%, Zimbabwe only has 18% of women in editorial lead,” Godia said.
She stated that an average of one in five of the most senior editorial positions is filled by a woman in the Arab region against a slightly better average in Africa and Southeast Asia, where women hold one in three senior editorial positions. “These results echo those of a 2022 Reuters Report on Women and Leadership in News Media that found that women occupy 21% of the top editorial positions.
This shows that women are underrepresented in newsroom leadership," she said. She stated that bringing about gender balance in this area requires that news organisations have focused succession planning because correcting the imbalance in leadership must be a deliberate strategy. Godia stated that women journalists receive insufficient development support and they are also affected by gender-specific challenges such as sexual harassment, unequal pay and threats of violence that push them out of the industry prematurely.
She added that women’s progression in the media is also curtailed by invisible walls that include biases and stereotypes about their leadership, capabilities, and aspirations. “Various studies have found that where women are in top leadership positions, businesses have improved financial performance, strengthened organisational climates, increased corporate social responsibility and reputation, talent is leveraged better, innovation and collective intelligence are enhanced and crises are handled better,” she said.
Botswana women in media shared the same sentiments that women are underrepresented in newsroom leadership calling for news organisations to have a focused succession plan.
The Voice Editor-in-Chie,f Emang Mutapati conceded that women who currently hold leadership positions in newsrooms in Botswana are not paid the same amount as compared to their male counterparts holding similar positions. She said this clearly demonstrates biases and stereotypes against women's leadership, capabilities and aspirations.
Mutapati said there are considerably more women working as journalists than there are in top roles, something that needs immediate attention.