Andrew
Gender and Community Editor
Only 18 percent of the top editorial positions in Zimbabwean newsrooms are held by women, while just 12 percent of all chief executive officer or board chairperson positions in the corporate sector are occupied by women, a new research by WAN-IFRA Women in News (WIN) has concluded.
The research, titled “WIN Leadership Mapping”, covered 192 media companies in 17 countries and sought to ascertain holders of top editorial and executive positions in business by gender.
“In 2022, WAN-IFRA Women in News analysed data from 192 media companies within the 17 countries in which we operate to document who holds the top editorial and top business position in each company, by gender,” reads the report.
“Companies were selected based on their size and audience.”
The research, reads the report, is the first of a planned annual benchmarking study to track change.
“The results demonstrate that a significant gender gap exists within the highest ranks of power of the media.
“By bringing attention to this imbalance, we aim to encourage media to look internally at how they can break the bias.”
The research was undertaken by a WIN country coordinator, located in each of the surveyed countries.
It was undertaken through desktop research and using publicly available information and own local knowledge.
The research was validated by receiving confirmation from individuals working at each outlet that the names and positions provided were accurate.
Positions considered in the study were that of CEO or chairperson, while editor-in-chief or executive editor were media posts scrutinised to determine who is in charge of the business operations, as well as the editorial agenda, respectively.
In Zambia, the research found that women held 57 percent of the top editorial positions, while in the Philippines 78 percent of chief editors were women.
“Evidence suggests that women receive insufficient development, gender differences between men and women play a role, and anti-woman bias predicates against progression. Many of these factors are created by, or reinforced through systemic and process aspects of organisations,” the report states.
In Somalia, no woman was in a top editorial position, while only 9 percent of such positions were held by women in Egypt. The report also says that no woman held the highest level business position in Somalia, Rwanda, Kenya, Palestine and Jordan.
Online Reporter