Journalism, like some other professions does not differentiate between men and women; indeed, this is the rationale behind the saying, ’gentlemen of the press,’ indicating that journalism does not recognise gender in its practitioners.
And this may be the reason for the seeming dominance of men in the practice of journalism especially at the top echelon of the profession. This skewed ratio in gender of practitioners is the focus of a media roundtable for female journalists as part of a research exercise by a Tulane University graduate student, Olamide Eniola, for the Tulane Centre for Public Service (CPS).
The roundtable sought to find out the experiences of diverse classes of women journalists and find out if they contend with workplace discrimination based on their gender.
Speaking during the roundtable, the researcher, Olamide Eniola stated that “In Nigeria, as elsewhere in the world, journalism is a male dominated practice. A cursory look at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) leadership shows this male dominance in the news reporting profession. Consequently, women who toe journalism as a career path often face glass ceiling, sexual harassment and other forms of workplace discrimination. The Nigeria Women of Journalists (NAWOJ) created and named to cater for women’s interests in the profession is not exempted from male dominance and intrusion. ‘This is why having conversation about women journalists’ condition of labour in Nigeria is essential.”
He stated that in delivering their reportorial duties, women journalists contend with workplace discrimination in addition to the insecurity landscape in Nigeria, adding that it is consequently important to have conversations about women journalists’ condition of labour in Nigeria.
According to experiences shared during the roundtable sponsored by the Tulane Centre for Public Service (CPS) in collaboration with NAWOJ and some other bodies, there is a skewed gender politics that typifies journalism in Nigeria.
Conversations confirmed the existence of gender bias and charted ways it can push back against gender dominance in Nigerian journalism while ensuring best gender practices in the news producing profession.
The programme sought to provide a safe space for women journalists to discuss their workplace experiences and provide support for each other.
The women journalists shared experiences on issues they had that were peculiar to them as women; harassment and attacks that often lead to self-censorship, gender harassment, unwanted sexual attention and sexual coercion, stunted promotion, negative effects on family life and mental as well as emotional issues in maintaining home-work life balance.
They consequently called on fellow female journalists to buckle up and stay to the true path irrespective of what they face as majority of threats, intimidation and abuse directed towards women in the workplace is perpetrated by male bosses, supervisors and co-workers supervised and enabled by some females who have been conditioned to think such is normal and this is why most incidents of harassment and violence at the workplace are never reported, even though the majority of women who experienced them said they were psychologically affected.
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