SECTOR 4 4.8 Equal opportunities regardless of race or ethnicity, social group, gender/sex, religion, disabilities and age are promoted in media houses. An increasing number of women are attending journalism schools today in Cameroon. Many journalism school administrators are categorical about the fact that more women than men are enrolling for their programmes. They say that many reasons account for this new trend, including the overall increase in number of girls enrolling and effectively completing pre-university studies. The development of Cameroon’s audiovisual media sector - which appears to be the media of choice for many female graduates - is another important driver. Interesting developments in electronic media are also attracting more female candidates. However, the positive development in the number of females in media ends in the four walls of journalism classrooms. Men still trump women in numbers inside media newsrooms. Part of the reason is that women generally prefer communication jobs beyond journalism upon graduation. Even if the numbers game is increasingly turning in women’s favour nowadays, the few who become journalists hardly get the same opportunities as men in terms of visibility from the kind of assignments they cover and ultimately in terms of promotion. One panellist argued that while the figures cannot be disputed, the hidden part of the story that is not often forthrightly addressed - especially by female journalists themselves - is “their own preference for ‘soft’ beats like health, education and gender which they consider easier and less demanding than the other beats such as politics, economics, science and sports, which they shy away from.” Nonetheless, things are changing, even if gradually. Several women now hold management level positions – such as publishers and editors - in both private and public media. The state-run company that publishes the national daily, Cameroon Tribune, is headed by a woman who is also the publisher. About 45% of the staff at CRTV is made up of women and several of them hold director ranks. Women now feature prominently as anchors on prime time news since the CRTV started presenting its television newscasts with two anchors - usually a man and a woman. Across the industry, there is no visible discrimination against women and other minority groups. Part of the reason is that male chauvinism is on a general decline in the broader society, and competence is given more importance than gender or other considerations. CRTV, for example, employs several physically handicapped journalists, including a blind radio anchor. Increasingly, young people are finding space and voice in the industry, especially with the boom in new media and the increasing demand for ICT skills in the industry. The average age at CRTV’s web-service is 22 years. “Young people are more likely to grow in new media than in traditional media,” said one panellist. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER CAMEROON 2014 131