MEDIA EXECUTIVES PLEDGE TO REPORT WOMEN MORE FOR THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF NIGERIA

Lagos, 4 September 2022.

Media Executives have committed to giving Nigerian women more visibility to increase participation and representation of Women in leadership positions. This commitment was made on Thursday, 1 September at a National Dialogue on Gender Responsive Reporting held in Lagos Nigeria.

The executives analysed the gender inequality gaps and exclusion of women in political participation and underscored the need for a balanced media representation of women.

Recognizing the important role of the media as gatekeepers in democracy and critical stakeholders in sustaining Nigeria’s growth and development, UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms Beatrice Eyong urged the media executives and editors to ensure women journalists are given similar opportunities as their male colleagues and can cover diverse subjects from politics to business, science, sports, and technology, while encouraging male journalists to also cover diverse issues, including women’s rights and gender equality stories. Eyong further charged the media to “Champion women’s rights and gender equality issues through editorial articles, features, and news coverage; and adopt a gender-sensitive Code of Conduct on Reporting.” Eyong emphasized the need to include women in decision-making processes in Nigeria to achieve Sustainable Development Goals.

Toun Okewale Sonaiya appealed to media executives to consider a 50:50 approach to increase the number of women used as guests, analysts, commentators, speakers with an ultimate aim of a 50:50 representation of women and men contributors at news gathering and reporting stages. She urged for primetime features of Women on Television and Radio stations and on prominent spaces including front pages in newspapers and magazines to report women more. “UN Women & Women Radio will make available to the media a comprehensive list with profile brief of 2023 female candidates once INEC releases.” Okewale Sonaiya called for
the media to interview, profile and feature 2023 female candidates on primetime and front page spaces like their male counterparts. She advocated for more women owning and running Television, Radio and Newspaper organisations.

Speaking on the Trends & Issues in Media Coverage of Women at Elections, Lanre Arogundade of the International Press Centre, noted that the voices of women and other marginalised stakeholders should be adequately reflected and accorded as much visibility and prominence as equal stakeholders in the society. ”Women could only unleash their potentials and contribute to politics, electoral process and governance when their voices are heard and not subjugated in the media.” He added.

The media executives agreed to meet quarterly to review their commitments in giving prominence to women’s stories while reporting women as equal stakeholders in Nigeria.
Participating media include Channels, AIT, Vanguard, Guardian, Daily Trust, Punch, Leadership, Nation, The Sun, RayPower, NAS 89.9 FM Yola, City 105.1 FM, Women Radio 91.7 FM, Premium Times, Cable News, Frank Talk, Bella Naija, MediaRoomHub, PenPushing, Naija Hottest Gists and LadyGwen Media.

On the sideline of the National Agenda was a 2-day training for political reporters on Gender Sensitive Reporting. Resource persons are Motunrayo Alaka, Executive Director, Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism, who presented the ‘RUSH’ model: Report Until Something Happens to underscore the need for journalists to follow up on gender-based stories until justice is served.
Dr Oluseyi Soremekun, National Information Officer, United Nations Information Centre (UNIC), drew participants’ attention to unconscious gender bias and charged the journalists to avoid stereotypical comments and generalizations in their reports. “When journalists do not understand how bias works, they are less likely to identify it in themselves and their reports; and also less likely to come to fair and accurate decisions. He added.
Ene Ede, Gender and Media Strategist urged reporters to intentionally amplify the voices of women in a male-dominated Nigeria to balance the reports.

Participating journalists pledged to reach out to more women and to adequately represent women.

The National Media Dialogue organised by UN Women in collaboration with Women Radio with support from the Canadian government was held at Radisson Hotel Ikeja Lagos.

Esther Alaribe
Women Radio 91.7
news@wfm917.com