Women in media: What are our losses and gains so far?

When Christine Nantume was retained at the radio station she was working at as an intern, she was elated that the journey to a successful career as a journalist, had begun.

Although she was on probation for an unspecified time frame, without pay, she kept working and hoping that things would get better with time.  She also started experiencing uncomfortable sexual advances from her supervisors.

“I confided in a female editor about what was going on and she was kind enough to tell me not to take any of the men serious, because so many girls had been used. She promised to get me an opportunity elsewhere, using her networks, which she did eventually,” says Nantume.

When Nantume was hired by another media house, a faith-based media house, she felt safe. But she was in for a rude awakening. She worked without pay for almost six months, after which, she was promised a monthly transport allowance of Shs100,000.

She eventually got tired of empty promises and went straight to the manager’s office to lodge a complaint. “When I told him it had been almost a year and I had not been paid, he said I was an adult and should be able to read between the lines,” Nantume shares.

Angrily probing on when she would be paid, he told her if she did not give him what he wanted, she would work without pay, until she got tired and fired herself. And that is exactly what happened.  Nantume worked for three years without a salary. She eventually quit and started a small business.

One in two women are harassed

Nantume’s story is just one example of challenges women journalists face.  A survey carried by WANIFRA-Women in News early this year, on sexual harassment prevalence across Africa, in media houses, showed that one in two women, face either verbal or physical sexual harassment at work. The report, further reveals, that only one in five sexual harassment cases, are reported to management and that the biggest percentage of perpetrators are the supervisors and executives in the media houses.             

Fear, according to the report, was the number one reason for women not report harassment. Most fear to lose their jobs. Women get very little organisational support and that is why many leave the industry for other jobs.

Online gender-based violence

While the internet and new technological advancements are providing safe spaces for these women to go about their work, these digital spaces have fueled new forms of violence against women, collectively known as online gender-based violence (OGBV), for which policy regulations, for such online offences on women are non-existent.

Stalking, trolling, defamation, cyber bullying and abuse against work are some of the forms in which online gender-based violence presents. Research carried out by UNESCO on online gender-based violence (OGBV) in 2020, shows that, female journalists are four times more likely to experience online attacks compared to their male counterparts.

A report on online violence against women in general elections, a study carried out by Pollicy Uganda in 2021, shows that online gender-based violence against women is as high 32 percent. “Online smear campaigns, graphic imagery and other forms of hate speech force female journalists to withdraw from public discourse. This in turn silences women in the public domain, where our stories, perspectives and experiences are already underrepresented,” says Bonita Nyamwire, from Pollicy, during the Uganda Media Women’s Association (UMWA) symposium, held last month to celebrate women in media.  

“When you review data captured at police stations, there is no data on online gender-based violence. Once it is recognised and documented alongside other forms of violence, then government and legislators will generate policies and regulations to counter it,”Nyamwire appealed.

Underpay and exploitation

Some journalists earn as little as Shs3,000 per story run, or published, without transport allowance.  It is also no secret that women are generally paid less across all careers. According to Carol Beyanga, the head of partnerships, monetisation and mentorship at Nation Media Group, women are hard-working, but they are often taken advantage of.

“Men, usually know how to push and ask for what they deserve. A woman has to prove their worth and convince their supervisors that they deserve a salary increment. The hard stories and more challenging beats such as politics, riots and investigative journalism pay more, and are mostly male dominated. So, if women are not are not covering these beats, they will not make as much money,” says Beyanga, who was one of the panelists at the symposium. 

Linda Kibombo, NTV news/producer and editor, believes that the poor exploitative pay, is what is giving rise to desperate journalists, which has in turn affected the quality of journalism. 

 “There are times when a source calls and says, I need a reporter, tell them there will be breakfast. How do you call journalist to cover your event and you think a cup of tea with samosa and sausage is enough bait for the story to run or be published? It is very demeaning,” Kibombo wonders.

“It is also a trend for sources give out money in the guise of transport money, maybe between Shs100,000-Shs200,000, which reporters should not be taking, because the source gives out that money with an intention of  influencing the story, to make sure it runs, so the reporter is biased from the get-go. Journalists accept the money because they need it, many of them are struggling to pay rent. Some hardly eat three meals a day,” she adds.        

Few women managers

Carol Beyanga believes that if there were more women in higher ranks, matters of sexual harassment and exploitation would be dealt with and women would find it easier to speak up. There is gender imbalance and inequity in managerial and higher decision-making positions within the news rooms.

“Issues concerning mothers such as maternity leave, would be handled more fairly. Women leave newsrooms because the working environment does not favour them. Bringing on board gender sensitive men, who are more likely to make decisions that empower the women in the newsroom is a plus,” Beyanga shares.

According Margaret Vichuri, a former managing editor at Daily Monitor, women are genuinely more laid back, yet men are more aggressive, which works to their advantage, given that journalism is a reasonably tasking profession.

“When I was still in the newsroom, a seasoned female reporter was promoted to the position of senior reporter and the first assignment was a political rally, which turned into a serious riot with tear gas. When she went back to the newsroom, she said I am sorry, I cannot do this story. I appreciate the position I have been given, but I cannot do political reporting, because, she could not see herself being chased around,” she says. 

Vuchiri says while people like to believe that newsrooms push women to do features and only want them to do soft news, both men and women were given equal opportunities to cover stories at Daily Monitor.

Rough and demanding career

“There was a time we sent female journalists to cover elections upcountry, and when they returned, one confided in us that her husband was not comfortable with her travelling around the country for work. There was never a deliberate barrier to prevent women to rise in whatever beat they want, but the reporters for a number reasons like the ones above, choose to do softer beats and are more comfortable with features. So the women covering hard news usually need a bit of encouragement to keep pushing.  Vuchiri says hard news is too demanding with strict deadlines. 

“Imagine amidst work, she called that her child is sick and she needs to pick them from school to hospital. It gets very tricky, because the editor is waiting, so sometimes the profession gets quite rough and demanding,” she says.  

Sex for stories to run?

Vuchiri says she attended a conference, where, young journalist from a certain station, was writing stories but they were never run. When she asked, she was told she had to sleep with the boss for her stories to be published. “That was very disturbing for me, because I was wondering, did the other girl compromise herself for each story that ran?”

Vichuri says even women in managerial positions have a fair share of challenges. She says some men do not want to be supervised by a woman and women need a thick skin to lead teams with such men. She says disrespect is enormous, and yet, a man in the same position would not experience that.

Vuchiri believes to address such an issue, it has to start from society and not the news room.  “We cannot change how an adult has been trained to think overnight. Right from childhood, people grow with these beliefs and take them to their work places. In our cultural setting, men are raised to view women as second class citizens,” she emphasises.    

She recalls a time when she chaired meeting and when the idea of increasing the duration for maternity leave popped up, one of the guys visibly disturbed, said, companies should just stop employing women, because four months is a long time for a woman to be away from work yet they earn.

Women are paid less

I was once offered a position in a company, where I knew that the man was earning two million more than what I was being offered. So I rejected the job and what offended me most was when I asked why, the boss told me, you are woman, do you think you can do this work? How will you handle people, who will not view you as competent? I asked him why he gave me the position in the first place. They eventually got a man and what he was being paid more,” she says. Vuchiri says one of the most disturbing issues is that even if a women hold high positions of leadership, they do not influence decisions.

Strides over the years

These challenges notwithstanding, women in media have made so many strides over the years. Sheila Kawamara, a reputable journalist, who was the first woman to cover from the warzone, during the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda, is proud of where the female journalists are now.

“When I joined the newsroom, we were about 10 women in the whole of New Vision and about 30 men. One time, one of our neighbours, my parent’s friend, had to come to Vision and he was shocked to find me there. “Gwe Sheila, okolaki wano mumulimu gwaba Malaya? Dayo mangu ewaka!” (Sheila, what are you doing here, in a job for prostitutes? Go back home!)” 

Kawamara says she understands why he made that statement. “In 1980s and 1990s, women simply stayed home and looked after their children. The most they could do was teaching or nursing. There I was, taking up a profession that required me to run around with a camera, recorder and interacting with men from all spheres,” she recollects.

Kawamara says when she got to the newsroom, women were only assigned soft beats on topics such as beauty, cooking, and other simple features for women, something that bothered her. She wanted to cover politics. On several occasions, she asked her editor to cover news in Parliament, but he would tell her that she would not manage.

 “I stubbornly decided to tag along with one of my male colleagues and we worked on a story together. The first time I solely covered Parliament, I was delighted, my mum and dad were excited. From then on, my editors started trusting me with big assignments on hard news and that’s how I got to cover the war in Rwanda.  Who could have thought? I was in Rwanda for about four months. Women have had to fight for their space in everything,” Kawamara shares. 

Kawamara says many stereotypes about what women can and cannot do have been debunked. Another gain, is that there are more women today in decision-making positions, which was not the case a few years ago.

 “There was a time when there were no women on the Monitor Publication Ltd board, but now we have three women on the board. There were barely any women as heads of department, we were very few in middle management positions, but now, we have women as heads of department and a couple  of them working as editors,” Beyanga exudes.

Tech spaces

Female journalists across Africa are making head way in technology spaces. They are discussing current geopolitical, social and economic issues that affect the daily lives of Africans.

Here in Uganda, women journalists are using YouTube channels and blogs, to reach a broader audience. These online platforms have also enabled them to extend their work beyond the publications and stations they work for.

On the issue concerning sexual harassment, employers need to take up responsibility to ensure safety for everyone in the organisation. The employer has a responsibility, to create a working environment in which employees feel safe to report. 

Solutions

Organisations should also put in place sexual harassment policies, which every employee should be aware of. It would also help, if women had media conduct tribunals, where offences can be reported if organisations fail to bring to book culprits.                  

On the issue concerning underpayment of journalists, seasoned business woman and project director, Private Sector Uganda, Hajjati Ruth Aisha Biyinzika, believes journalists have so many income-generating opportunities at their disposal. 

More income streams

“You have the networks, but you are just simply stuck in a box. You can start and grow your business with the right contacts. So many people wish they had access to the social capital you have. Many times PSFU launches programmes for women, where we give out money. Journalists come and cover us, go back to the newsrooms and even write the story, but never think about applying for these opportunities. We need a mindset change,” she stated at the symposium.

“I personally do not solely rely on a salary. I earn money from other sources. So ask yourself, what other skills do you have? You can turn your life around financially, while carrying out your journalistic duty,” says Biyinzika.   

In her address to the women in the media, Biyinzika also informed journalists that an entrepreneurship fund for women was launched on Women’s Day this year and encouraged them to apply. According to Biyinzika, PSFU will be handling 50 percent of the fund and the Ministry of Gender and Labour will handle 50 per cent.

No doubt, women have achieved a number of milestones in the world of news and are continuing to do so. Although there are still a number of challenges women in media face, it is clear that they can be dealt with, through policy initiatives by government and the right initiatives by media houses themselves to ensure a conducive environment for women in media. 

Unique challenges women face

Women are advised not to be too desperate when negotiating for pay. “There people who are hard pressed; without that job, children will not eat. But even then, there should be a limit,” Vuchiri says. 

Companies should also be very intentional in ensuring that, women that work for them are as comfortable as the men who work for them. How? By being very deliberate about understanding the unique challenges women face. Women’s bodies are different; if a woman requests to take a day off because of cramps, it should not mean she is not productive or she is making excuses.

Thriving amidst challenges

Vuchiri advises women to have a strategy for growth; know exactly what you want to achieve. “You cannot just simply wake up every day, cover stories submit them to the editors and that is it. What is your long term goal and how will you achieve it?

Do you want to be an editor? Is your aspiration to do stories that change lives, stories for women, or do you want to do stories directed towards influencing policy, and decisions-making? So you need to have clear career aspirations, lay down plans for growth. In five years where do you want to be? It also important to find authentic senior people as mentors.