SECTOR 2 Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 1.4 2.7 All media fairly reflect the voices of both women and men. More and more women are entering the Congolese media as journalists. The vast majority are going to the audio-visual sector. Between 35 to 45 per cent of the 282 employees of Radio Congo are women. But also more and more are filling editorial positions in newspapers. Nevertheless, the growing number of women in the media is not reflected in the space given to women in media reporting and programming. On all platforms there is more room for men than for women. During the country’s recent elections, women openly complained that male candidates were getting more media space than female ones. Journalists and rights advocates say the limited voice of women in the media might not be deliberate. No one purposefully sets out to silence the voice of women in the media. Instead, a number of factors work against women: • • • In the larger society, there is more room for men to speak than for women and this is also reflected in the media. “Women generally do not want to take the floor because they believe it is not their role to speak up publicly.” Journalists claim that as a result, it is hard to find female sources that are willing to go on the record. Even though there are more women than men in Congo’s population, there are very few of them holding public offices. In a government of 34, there are only four women. This low representativeness mitigates the female voice in the media. Access to the media also comes at a cost. Men, especially those in politics and business, can afford media exposure far more than women. This was a major factor in the weak coverage of female candidates during the country’s past elections. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO 2013 93