Women in media must speak out against gender inequality and claim their rightful position in the media landscape, the Executive Director of GDA Media Limited, Oheneyere Gifty Anti, has said.
That, she said would provide an equal opportunity for women to succeed in the media industry while eliminating gender stereotyping which could be an obstacle to women’s rights in journalism.
Oheneyere Gifty Anti disclosed this at a seminar organised by Canal France International (CFI) Media Development in collaboration with Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) in Accra on Wednesday.
The seminar which was on the theme: ‘Equal voices: promoting gender equality in the media in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana,’ aimed at combating gender inequalities and stereotypes in the media of the two countries and encourage managers of media outlets to promote better representation of women in both their managerial practices and their editorial policies.
Oheneyere Gifty Anti said until women in the media dare to make their voices heard, they would remain at the same spot.
She urged female journalists to become intentional and deliberate in breaking the stereotype asking them to constantly add value to themselves.
She said female journalists at the top also need to be intentional about “pulling’ the younger ones or their colleagues along with them.
The Executive Director, MFWA Sulemana Braimah said women were under represented in all sectors of the economy and that steps had been undertaken by various organisation to tackle the issue.
He called on the media to integrate gender mainstreaming, and women empowerment as an important aspect in the newsrooms while empowering women in the media to lead the agenda in order to have the support of the men.
The Deputy Director-General CFI Media, France, Alan Dreanic, said his outfit had adopted a five year strategy to bring balance into the media landscape and promote gender equity