Zimbabwe
SCORES
Individual scores:

2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 2

Average score:

1.8

4.4.

Gender mainstreaming is promoted in terms of equal
participation of both sexes in the production process.

ANALYSIS:
The number of women working in the print media is insignificant. At
the Zimbabwe Independent, for example, there is only one woman
in the production team of about 12. The operating environment is
not conducive for gender mainstreaming, with men regularly stereotyping and being hostile to women. Media Houses are described
as being notorious for sexual harassment of women. It has been
reported that “carpet interviews” are infamous, meaning that some
women get a job and survive in the media houses only in exchange
for sexual favours. There is also the systematic exclusion of women
from prestigious arenas such as business and financial reporting and
the lack of assistance of new female journalists in the newsrooms
to take up this area.All this forces women who seek a better working environment out of the newsrooms and into the public relations
sector. On the other hand, women do not seem to be taking up the
challenge and competing with men so that they play their part and
prove themselves, perhaps also due to the fact that working hours
are not conducive to women’s family duties. The remarkable exception is community-based media production where gender mainstreaming is promoted.
SCORES:
Individual scores:

1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 1, 2, 2

Average score:

1.4

African Media Barometer - Zimbabwe 2006

33

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