ITRealms:
Twitter enthusiasts otherwise known as Tweeps, at the 2016 International Women Day (IWD) commemoration Tweet-chat
hosted by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), urged media managers in Nigeria to address gender parity in the newsroom,
reports ITRealms.
A press statement from the centre made
available to ITRealms at the weekend by the coordinator, Motunrayo
Alaka, said WSCIJ hosted the Tweet-chat on the
theme: ‘Gender Parity in the Newsroom’ just as the call has become imperative due to the imbalance in the ratio of women to men in media
organisations in the country.
In the conversation led by Former
Director of Editorials, NEXT Newspaper, Amma Ogan and the General Manager,
Radio One FM, Funke-Treasure Durodola, it was noted that there is an urgent
need to ensure that more women occupy top editorial positions and cover major
beats in the news media.
While the achievements of some women in the media were acknowledged,
discussants said more women should be given equal opportunities like their male
counterparts to maximise their potentials. Media managers were also urged to create
an inclusive, flexible culture in the newsroom as well as work towards gender
balance for leadership positions.
"#GenderParity in the #Newsroom is
critical if the #Media is to lead the change it advocates," the Wole
Soyinka Centre tweeted with its handle @WSoyinkaCentre.
According to Durodola, the mind-set of assigning female journalists to soft
beats instead of the harder news needs to change to achieve gender parity.
"How many women are in political desks in newsrooms? Or defence...” she
lamented. She however urged women who are given the opportunity to lead
to consciously work on being different, mentor others and break new grounds.
Contributing, Ogan noted that media organisations should incorporate gender
parity from "The first step, newsroom to boardroom," stressing that "You
need an assigning editor who is aware of and understands why gender parity
matters. Gender parity awareness promotes itself. Assigning editors must make
the right choices.”
Other contributors noted that women have demonstrated that they can be trusted
with more responsibilities in the newsroom based on the performance of those
who have been in leadership positions over time. A call was also made for
strong advocacy to protect women’s parity considering instances where some
female journalists have been forced to resign or were sacked under difficult
bosses.
Some discussants raised questions on how women struggle to be recognised in the
newsroom while others stated that women have more domestic responsibilities than
men, which limit their growth or participation in the newsroom. The media was
also urged to celebrate the voice of women and their achievement in the
newsroom and male journalists were charged to encourage their female
counterparts.
The hashtags for the chat #ReportWomen #Pledgeforparity and #IWD2016 trended as
number one in Lagos as the discussions gained momentum. The chat started at
about 11:00am
with a brief introduction of the WSCIJ project, Report Women which focuses on
girls and women issues in Nigeria. The WSCIJ under the initiative has trained
eighty journalists and commissioned thirty-one stories. It has also published a
documentary titled, Report Women: The untold stories of girls and women, which
is available on YouTube.
The organisation used the opportunity of the chat to celebrate top female
journalists, past and present, including Anike Agbaje- Williams, the first
female broadcaster at Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, (FRCN), late Remi
Oyo former Managing Director of News Agency of Nigeria and President Nigeria
Guild of Editors, Bimbo Oloyede who has a four-decade experience in
broadcasting, Late Hajiya Bilikisu Yusuf, Columnist with Daily Trust and Funke
Egbemode, Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of New Telegraph, among others.
Alaka further said, earlier in the week, WSCIJ had in collaboration with the
Centre for Black and African Arts and Culture (CBAAC), held a walkathon on
Broad Street, Lagos, on Tuesday 8 March to encourage gender parity at all
levels of society. Both organisations will also host a Symposium on Tuesday 15 March 2016
at Archbishop Soremekun Hall, Broad Street, Lagos, by 10am with Mrs Onari Duke,
Chairman Board of Directors, Child Survival and Development Organisation of
Nigeria as the lead speaker.
ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!
