By Bertha Badu-Agyei
Accra, Feb 18, GNA-Dr Charity Binka, Ghana chapter president of the African Women leaders Network (AWLN), has urged media organizations to lead by example in pushing the agenda for a six-month maternity leave.
“Media organizations must lead the push for a six-month maternity leave with a good example of setting up a space within the facility for breastfeeding mothers to take care of their babies”
She observed that bridging the gender gap or inequalities in the Ghanaian media required a multi-faceted approach to address systemic challenges as well as reproductive health issues such as providing support and care facilities for women in the media.
Dr Binka, who is also the Executive Director for Women and Change (Womec) was making a presentation at a validation meeting on the overview of a strategy document to advance gender equality in the Ghanaian media.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) in partnership with the French Media Development Agency, Canal France International (CFI) is implementing a project aimed at combatting gender inequalities and stereotypes and promoting women at all levels of responsibility in the media in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.
The project titled “Equal Voices” sought to strengthen the capacities of both male and female media professionals to promote a better and more balanced gender representation in editorial policies
The meeting was to afford the stakeholders drawn from the academia, media, regulatory bodies and policy makers to validate the document put together after separate dialogues with stakeholders as part of the project.
Some of the key interventions captured in the document included establishment of dedicated, adequately resourced desks to focus on women’s issues and frameworks to monitor and enforce gender-sensitive policies in the media houses.
Others are introduction of awards for media houses demonstrating gender sensitivity, potentially sponsored by the MFWA, award of ‘gender certificates’ to recognize gender compliant organizations which could aid their access to contracts and partnerships.
Participants at the validation observed that the document had enough incentives to respond to the gender inequalities and gaps existing in the media organizations.
However, they proposed that MFWA should take the charge to develop a model gender policy for media organizations to align since it was expensive to develop such policy documents.
GNA