“VENTURING INTO THE OLD BOY’S CLUB”
The media is one of those male dominated professions, some women refer to it as the – ‘old boys club’.
For decades, women have been relegated to the background and considered inapt for certain professions. However, some women have brace these challenges and exhibited their worth and prowess especially in the media.
Across the world, women in leadership positions and certain professions are hampered by numerous obstacles including pervasive and often subtle attitudes and beliefs that women are unequal to men at home, work and in government.
Feminist argues that regardless of race, class and ethnicity, women are consistently defined as ‘political outsiders’ whose participation in public life is conditional upon their maternal roles. Many cultures view the raising of children as a feminine duty, thus the men are not expected to have domestic roles.
In countries where male chauvinism and female subordination exist, women who venture into powerful positions are faced with multiple roles – to manage her household and family and also performing their professional task. This often leaves women at a disadvantage in relation to their male counterpart.
Cultural and traditional practices have subjected women to male dominance and these have also hindered women’s progress in achieving gender equality. Even so, women face barriers such as conflict intimidation, negative attitudes, stereotype by society and lack of support by electorates.
Activists have also noted that because women are often viewed as out of place in professional environments they are subjected to more scrutiny at work than are men of the same rank, which slows down women advancement to management positions.
As Ms Inonge Mbikusita Lewanika, Zambian Ambassador to the US told Africa Renewal – ‘getting into and staying in positions of power is difficult because of the roles traditional expected of women therefore, to gain positions of authority women frequently have to be over qualified just to be noticed and this is a direct reflection of how societies view women – as – not as good as men. And when women get appointed people say – ‘she is just like a man’, in other words they relate to you as a man if you are an achiever.
In spite of all these obstacles and challenges plus the mass awareness of women empowerment and gender equality, there have been considerably a continuous influx of women in these so call male dominated fields like the media and the representation of women in decision – making positions.
In Cameroon there are veterans like Mary Camara and Becky Ndive both from the English Speaking part of Cameroon. There challenges was not only limited to their sex but also their ethnicity. Cameroon is made up of ten provinces and the people from the East are known as Francophones occupying eight provinces while the Southern part where the population has an English origin occupies just two. The Anglophones as a result of their minority faces discrimination, domination and prejudice.
During the 2008 Women, Action and the Media conference in Massachusetts, Boston, I was privileged to meet two outstanding women - Helen Thomas and Haifa Zangana both presented a keynote address at the conference. Helen Thomas story is quite an extraordinary one in the media realm.
Helen Thomas has been a pioneer throughout her career in Journalism. She began her career as a copy girl on the old Washington Daily News to White house Correspondent. She was among the Washington News Women who worked to open the doors of Press Organizations closed to them.
As an ardent journalist, it was quite captivating, inspiring and encouraging to listen to Helen’s account of her experiences and views. One cannot help but notice and admire her as a woman of valor and courage. According to her, women filled the gap in professions like journalism, teaching and others when the men went to war.
Apparently, women who embraced the media profession faced tough times and still do; nonetheless women need to muster the courage which she recommends and stress for women in the media to uphold to enable them meet challenges and make an impression.
Haifa Zangana is a fierce witness to her native war-torn country and the only Iraqi woman in the West writing about the situation. Joining in the arm struggle against Saddam Hussein she was captured, imprisoned and tortured as a young woman and finally released from Abu Ghraib prison after six months of detention, she was force to live in exile.
In Rhode Island, U S A during my visit to the Westerly Innovation Network Team an NGO I collaborate with to create awareness on electronic waste pollution, I was also opportune to meet another veteran female journalist who came to cover our meeting.
Gloria Marion Smith Russell a true journalism ‘pioneer’ then at age 81 years was still so vibrant and passionate about her profession. She was The Westerly Suns first- ever female news reporter, covering the town of Westerly in the 1960s.
By the words of Raymond J. Lamont, Editor/Vice President of The Sun, Gloria established from the start her commitment to getting as close as possible to the news – sometimes riding with local firefighters on the backs of the truck to cover a fire. And I can honestly say she has never lost that commitment in more than forty years since.
Named to the Rhode Island Journalism Hall of Fame in 2003 and Rhode Island’s Outstanding Older Worker in 2006, Gloria is seen as a model for older workers; she is especially an inspiration for female journalist. She not only bucked the trend when journalism was a male- dominated field more than forty years ago, but continues to actively practice her craft at the highest level today.
According to Gloria in her days because of her sex she was limited to cover only those simple or regular news like modeling considered feminine but she craved for more action, something more daring and challenging like broking a murder – suicide and bank robbery story. She was always determined no matter all the odds and bottlenecks she faces as a woman in her attempt to investigate and gather facts for her story.
Today some media women find the job boring and less enthusiastic since they are not usually assigned out where there is action; they are only glued to their seats.
Again media women are also vulnerable and susceptible to sexual abuse and harassment especially from their Supervisors, Male Colleagues and Interviewee. The profession especially as a TV and radio Reporter exposes the women to the public and some female journalists have lost their marriage and relationship simply because their husbands and fiancés are not in accord with their popularity or withstand her constant absence when she has to travel for professional task.
I equally acknowledge CNN’s Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpur whose impressive career makes her one of those media women who have broken the glass ceiling through her bravery; daring to report in those areas reserved for the media men folk. In her brilliant career for more than eighteen years Amanpur has reported on all the major crises from the world’s many hotspots ending her so many awards and recognition.
Frene Ginwala a South African Speaker of South African Speaker Parliament holds that the main responsibility falls on the women themselves ‘ in any society and situation is those most affected who must bring about change’ and ‘those who are privileged benefit from a system that marginalize others, it is therefore up to us the women.
To concur with this mind searching statement, I will like to note that the media is regarded as the watch dog of the society and has the duty to propagate, motivate and ensure progress through constructive and objective reporting. Hence, the media success stories lies on their impact and the changes they can effect. As a result, without women’s active and prominent representation in the media, the gender fight and crisis – marginalization, discrimination, domestic violence, subordination and all other forms of human rights abuses and violation women and girls encounter cannot be addressed adequately.
Only women themselves can advocate for their own rights, progress and development, in this wise, it is the role of the media to create awareness, sensitize and educate on the societal ills and irregularities pertaining to gender issues; by exposing the problems and examine the efforts and policies towards gender equality.
Gender equality calls for mutual respect to exist between the man and the woman and this can only be derived when both sexes correlate and collaborate for the betterment of the society.
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