Gender and Media

Women on air - Kharas Community Radio

Gender and Media go together. Media are reflecting and shaping society’s views of women. And as a sector or industry media themselves are grappling with the problems of gender and “glass ceilings” for women. Without equal opportunities in media houses and newsrooms women’s voices will remain marginalised.

 

Committed to gender mainstreaming fesmedia Africa has supported programs and projects that promote gender balance in and through the media. Starting in 2001 our main partners in this endeavour have been the South-Africa-based organisation Gender Links and - since its foundation in 2004 - the Gender and Media Southern Africa Network (GEMSA).

 

 

 

Over the last few years fesmedia Africa and Gender Links/GEMSA have collaborated on many projects:

  • The Gender and Media Baseline Study (GMBS) carried out in Southern Africa by Gender Links and MISA. The study was the first of its kind in the world in terms of its comprehensive nature and the geographical area covered. The data were gathered and analysed in twelve countries of the SADC-region. Over 25.000 news items were monitored and analysed. Only for 17% of these items recorded women were the sources. The study also proved that the stereotyped portrayal of roles for males and females in all spheres of life is still very much reflected in news media in the region (Gender Links, 2003) The study will be repeated in 2009/10.
Gender and Media Baseline study
  • Three Gender and Media Summits (with the first one held in 2004 launching the GEMSA-Network) which have become an important forum for regional discussions on gender and the exchange of “best practices” (Gender Links/GEMSA, 2004/2006/2008)
  • The Gender and Media Audience Research (GMAS) that opened a new window for work with media marketing and media consumers including a follow-up in-house monitoring in three media houses (Gender Links, 2004-2005)
  • The Southern Africa Media Diversity Journal that Gender Links and GEMSA are publishing twice a year. Gender mainstreaming projects with media houses in Zambia, Mauritius and other countries (Gender Links 2005-2006)
  • Gender mainstreaming projects with regulatory authorities in South Africa, Mauritius, Tanzania, Botswana, Malawi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Gender Links, 2007-2009)
  • The establishment of an Alerts and Complaints system in Botswana, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia to monitor offensive or discriminatory media content and raise complaints with regulatory authorities (GEMSA, 2007-2008)
  • An Elections Monitoring and Alerts Project with the aim to raise alerts based on the media’s coverage of elections in five countries (GEMSA/MISA, 2009)

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