A strategy document aimed at advancing gender equality in Ghana’s media landscape was launched in Accra last Thursday.
Jointly developed by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) and Canal France International (CFI)—both media development-focused organisations—the document provides actionable recommendations to address gender disparities in the media in line with Ghana’s commitment to international treaties on gender equality.
As part of MFWA and CFI’s “Equal Voices – Promoting Gender Equality in the Media” project, the strategy seeks to position the Ghanaian media as a leader in gender equity, aiming to dismantle systemic and structural barriers that limit women’s representation at all levels of the media industry.
The document outlines key recommendations, including increasing the number of women in leadership roles, achieving gender parity in media content, implementing gender-sensitive workplace policies, enhancing capacity for gender advocacy, and fostering multi-stakeholder collaboration, to achieve significant progress toward gender equality in Ghanaian media over the next 18 months.
Communication Consultant and lecturer at the Department of Communication Studies, University of Ghana, Professor Audrey Gadzekpo, who launched the plan last Thursday, described the document as timely as it affords the media an opportunity to take stock of what has been achieved 30 years after the adoption of the Beijing action for gender equality.
She said achieving gender parity in media required commitment and dedication by all stakeholders, saying; “When women thrive, everyone thrives.”
“The Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) has indicated that, at the current rate of progress, it will take at least 67 more years to close the average global gender equality gap in news media content and that calls for a hard push to get the roadmap of this strategy document working,” she urged.
The Cooperation Attaché of the French Embassy, Marine Hayem, said the media played a critical role in Ghana’s democratic process and achieving gender parity in the media was critical to ensuring that women’s voices and stories were equally represented.
“When women’s voices are heard equally, it means the concerns of half of the population are correctly addressed,” she said.
The President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Mr Albert Dwumfour, in a speech read on his behalf, commended the MFWA and the CFI for the document, admitting the low representation of women in Ghana’s media despite efforts made over the years.
He noted that the lack of equal gender representation perpetuates stereotypes and biases, reinforcing harmful gender norms, limiting the diversity of perspectives and leading to a lack of nuance and informed reportage.
Mr Dwumfour urged media houses to promote periodic capacity-building and training for journalists to promote a more inclusive media landscape.
BY ABIGAIL ANNOH
