By Eunice Hilda A. Mensah/Eugenia Otenwaa
Accra, March 14, GNA – The Network of Women in Broadcasting (NOWIB) has officially been launched to mark a major milestone in the quest for gender equity within Ghana’s media industry.
The NOWIB, launched in Accra on Friday, is a professional organisation dedicated to connecting, empowering, and inspiring women in the broadcasting industry through mentorship, training, advocacy, and networking.
Maame Biama Kwafo, the President of NOWIB, said the Network went beyond being just a traditional professional association by creating a powerful ecosystem where women in broadcasting could thrive professionally while finding the holistic support they needed to grow.
It had a comprehensive vision for transforming Ghana’s media landscape, where women’s voices shifted national discourse, female perspectives informed policy decisions, and gender balance in leadership became the norm rather than the exception.
The NOWIB initiative, she said, recognised the multifaceted challenges women faced in the broadcasting industry, acknowledging that those challenges transcended the professional environment.
As part of its objectives, the Network would implement mentorship programmes that encompassed technical skills development, life coaching, mental health support, and work-life balance strategies.
NOWIB’s ambitions extended beyond its membership, with plans to influence broader social change by challenging stereotypes and showcasing female accomplishments across all sectors.
Madame Kwafo called for collaborative partnerships with media houses, regulatory bodies, international organisations, and corporate entities to achieve its set objectives.
“By investing in women broadcasters, we invest in ethical journalism, by building our capacity to global standards, we strengthen Ghana’s media ecosystem,” she emphasised.
The Network positioned its members as future leaders in Ghana’s media industry who would hold power accountable, uphold the highest journalistic standards, and ensure that Ghana’s development path reflected the needs and aspirations of its citizens.
Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, pledged government’s support for the Network, describing it as “a powerful force for change in Ghana’s media landscape.”
She contextualised the establishment of NOWIB within the framework of international gender equality commitments, noting that 30 years after the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, progress toward gender parity remained slow-paced, particularly in media leadership positions.
“Broadcasting institutions are not merely transmitters of information. They are powerful shapers of public opinions and cultural norms,” she noted.
“The stories they choose to tell, and who gets to tell them, profoundly influences our society’s understanding of gender roles and expectations.”
Dr Lartey highlighted progress and persistent challenges in the media landscape, observing that while more women had entered newsrooms and production studios, many continued to face gender-based attacks.
“The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has committed to collaborating with media organisations to develop and implement policies addressing the needs of women broadcasters, with particular emphasis on combating violence against women journalists through effective mechanisms and accountability systems,” she said.
Madam Fatimatu Abubakar, former Minister of Information, outlined specific challenges facing women in African media, citing several research reports.
“Women hold only four per cent of executive, director, and editor-in-chief positions in African media outlets,” she noted, referencing the African Women in Media Report of 2020.
She explained that women made up only 30 per cent of journalists in African newsrooms, according to the International Women’s Media Foundation’s 2019 findings, and continued to face stereotyping and bias as reported by UNESCO same year.
Despite the challenges, Madam Abubakar highlighted emerging opportunities, including the growth of digital media to create new platforms for women to produce and distribute content, increasing focus on women’s empowerment topics, and expanding networking and mentorship opportunities.
“As we come together to form an alliance to strengthen our stance to propel our progress and welfare in the media, I believe it is prudent to explore and capitalise on various grants and support provided to women in media,” she added.
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