The women Journalist Association of The Gambia (WoJAG) joins voices around the world to mark this yearโs International Womenโs Day (IWD 2023) under the theme “๐๐ข๐ ๐ข๐ญ๐๐๐: ๐๐ง๐ง๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐๐๐ก๐ง๐จ๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ซ ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ”.
While the theme is putting spotlight on women and girls who are championing the advancement of transformative technology and digital education, WoJAG believes itโs important to highlight the gender inequalities that exist in the Gambian media.
The media in The Gambia is operating in a patriarchal society with unequal power relations between men and women which put women at the lowest rungs of the socio-economic ladder and render them vulnerable to different forms of rights violation.
While women journalist play pivotal roles in the development of the Gambian media, working as reporters, presenters, editors, producers, technicians, managers and media proprietors, they continue to face challenges such as; gender inequality, sexual harassment, low pay amongst others in media houses across the country.
A study on the Working Conditions of Media Workers in The Gambia conducted by the Gambia Press Union in 2020, shows that 37% of media workers are female. While this shows that the media is largely dominated by men, the report also shows that significant gaps exist when conditions for both men and women are compared at all levels, especially in terms of pay, positions held, and treatment.
Itโs important to note that many women journalist have acquired the necessary knowledge and skills over the past years which shows that there isnโt a lack of knowledge and skills among women journalists. Yet, editorial boards and decision-making positions in newsrooms continue to be mainly dominated by men.
๐๐๐ง๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ, ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ฅ of WoJAG said for gender inequality to be mitigated in the media, women should also be ready to push extra hard to get promotions like their male counterparts.
โItโs visible that many women are joining the journalism field but the fact remains the higher you go the fewer women you find in media houses and this is because of the gender discrimination that exist in the media. โItโs like women have to proof themselves over and over again to be accepted or seen capable and this is not the case with men, thatโs sadโ she said.
She called on media owners and managers to embrace equality by ensuring women in the media are promoted and empowered like they do with the opposite gender. โTrue inclusion and belonging requires equitable action in all aspectsโ she added.
Aside discrimination, Women in the media are faced with Sexual Harassment. A research by the Gambia Press Union reveals that 22% of the respondents have heard rumours of Sexual Harassment in the workplace, 40% of this have heard it more than twice, 23.9% are aware of someone being sexually harassed and 13.7% have had personal experience of sexual harassment.
๐๐จ๐๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ง๐๐ญ๐ญ๐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ said โmitigating sexual harassment is one the major issues the women journalist association of the Gambia is working on addressing. I call on women journalist to be assertive but also to work on improving themselves both professionally and academically so as to avoid men taking advantage of their vulnerabilityโ
While wishing all women media workers a happy Womenโs Day, WoJAG calls on all media employers to renew their commitment to ensuring gender equality, by:
โข Improving working conditions for women Journalists by ensuring they are accorded fair treatment in the workplace;
โข Complying with local and international labour standards by ensuring media workers are hired based on written employment contracts, are adequately paid, and all benefits due to them, including health, further education/training, social security are met;
โข Appointing and promoting more women in decision-making positions in newsrooms and other key management positions in media houses;
โข Adopting the GPU Sexual Harassment Policy as a guide to ensure a safe and conducive work environment for women journalists and all female media workers.
