Only one-fourth of leadership positions in Nigerian newsrooms are held by women, according to a recent report by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Journalism (WSCIJ).
The report highlighted the challenges faced by women in journalism, with men occupying a significant 74.3 percent of leadership roles, leaving 25.7 percent to female counterparts.
The report titled “Who leads the newsrooms and news? A report on women’s representation in newsrooms and news leadership in Nigeria” calls for concerted efforts to address the apparent gender gaps in the industry.
Drawing attention to global discourse on gender parity in media, the report presents findings from a meticulous study funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This initiative, known as the Report Women! News and Newsroom Engagement project, served as a platform for engaging with media personnel and management across various Nigerian media organisations.
An excerpt from the report highlights the alarming disparity in gender representation across different media genres. Print and online platforms exhibit the lowest representation of women at 4.6 percent and 5.5 per cent, respectively, while radio and television fare slightly better at 9.2 per cent and 6.5 per cent, respectively.
Geographically, the South West and North Central regions boast the highest number of women in leadership positions, albeit with the lowest percentage representation. In contrast, the North West and South-South regions lead in gender-balanced leadership, with 31.2 percent and 28.5 percent representation, respectively.
Read Also:
Furthermore, the report highlights inadequate representation of women in news coverage, where only 24 percent of anchors and authors are women. Men dominate as expert resources or guests, comprising 87.9 per cent, while women constitute a mere 12.1 per cent. Moreover, only 7.1 per cent of news content focuses on women, with the majority covering other angles.
To address these disparities, the WSCIJ emphasizes the need for proactive measures to enhance gender inclusivity and empower women within the industry. Dr Theophilus Abbah, Director of Daily Trust Foundation, underscores the report’s significance in illuminating the media industry’s imbalance and calls for deliberate efforts to rectify the gender disparity.
Juliana Francis, Deputy Editor of The Eagle Online, underscores the report’s role in advocating for increased representation of women in news coverage and leadership roles. She urges women to challenge erroneous beliefs hindering their advancement in the industry and encourages media organisations to adopt policies promoting gender equality.
Echoing these sentiments, Lekan Otufodunrin of the Media Career Development Network stresses the importance of leveraging technology to overcome barriers to female leadership in newsrooms. He emphasizes the need for virtual meetings and remote work arrangements to facilitate greater female participation in management positions.
“Geographically, the South West and North Central had the most women in leadership positions, but they ranked lowest in percentage representation. The North West and South-South led in gender-balanced leadership with 31.2 percent and 28.5 percent representation respectively.”
“The research has made several recommendations, which are relevant. It is a call on media organisations to be deliberate in ensuring that more women are given leadership roles in the newsroom, and more female newsmakers are sourced and featured in the news.
“Other recommendations are to implement gender parity policies, improve representation of women in news reporting, increase female expert sources, promote gender-sensitive reporting and engage stakeholders.”
