By Bertha Badu-Agyei, GNA
Accra, April 1, GNA-The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) in collaboration with the Canal France International (CFI) has launched a Strategy Document on advancing Gender Equality in the media in Ghana.
The document forms part of activities under MFWA and CFI’s project “Equal Voices- Promoting Gender Equality in the Media” which sought to combat gender inequalities and stereotypes to promoting women’s representation at all levels of responsibilities in the Ghanaian and Ivorian media.
The strategy document provides actionable recommendations to increase the number of women in leadership roles in the media and sought to achieve gender parity in media content, promote gender-sensitive workplaces and policies and enhance capacity for gender advocacy.
The development of the document was informed by extensive baseline research and four strategic dialogues with key stakeholders in the Ghanaian media with the aim of identifying barriers to the gender equality in the media.
Some of the key observations in the baseline studies were leadership gap, content bias, workplace challenges, lack of coordination in advocacy efforts and bystander effects, among others.
Dr Audrey Gadzekpo, of the Department of Communications, University of Ghana, who jointly performed the launching, described the document, as an ambitious goal and applauded MFWA for the courage of setting such bold guidelines to pursue a transformative change in the media.
She said the document had come at a critical moment of stock tacking in the global pursuit of gender equality indicating many landmark declarations on gender equality as well as backlash.
Refering to an international report which indicates that it would take about 67 years to close the gender gap in the traditional media and “that calls for a hard push to get the roadmap of the strategy document working.
Madam Marine Hayem, cooperation attaché, French embassy, said the strategy document marked a major milestone in the media landscape and represented a collective effort to the implementation of Ghana’s affirmative action.
Dr Charity Binka, Executive Director, Women, Media and Change (WOMEC) and an independent expert moderator of the strategic dialogues, said the document was grounded in local realities within the media as well as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
She urged media organizations to adopt the strategy document and introduce progressive systems for women leadership by 2030 in line with the demands of the Affirmative Action and the Gender Equity law.
The document draws inspiration from global best practices and gives clear and collective effort to move beyond commitment into action.
GNA
KOA