SECTOR 2 2.7 All media fairly represent the voices of both women and men. There has been an improvement in coverage on both men and women’s issues, and several papers have supplements that engage women on various topical issues. At the rural level, several radio stations dedicate more time to discussing women’s issues; and NTV now has a channel entirely for women. However, these platforms often take an entertainment-focused approach, covering topics such as fashion, relationships, and a range of ‘softer topics’. As such, a number of issues remain about the representation of women and the inclusion of their voices in the media. The media “trivialises women and places them at a lower scale of society” and content targeted at women, “is not very progressive”. “The content is not very engaging and is very simple. There is a generalisation that women would only discuss those simple things. Why aren’t they as engaging with women? They are not sourcing women to articulate key issues that are more engaging.” In terms of language, the media continues to push and reinforce gender stereotypes. “For example, after that clip of the child being abused by the nanny went viral, people were asking where the mother was, and whether she should be working.” Additionally, terminology used in supplements on women can be problematic. “This title or idea of ‘the full woman’ makes me wonder about what a half woman would be.” Panellists also noted that most feature stories are on men, and women are not used as sources for stories on the same scale that men are. Where women’s voices are present, “it’s always the same women appearing.” There are many capable women with strong voices and views on ‘hard topics’, but “their views are not coming through.” Despite the issues noted above, the media is becoming increasingly representative; although this is being pushed more by civil society than media outlets themselves. “Civil society has helped to mainstream gender issues” by placing pressure on media to have increased women representation, and for more balanced panels on TV and radio. Panellists also noted that the editorial policies of the various media houses require revisions on issues covering gender. “It is an issue of quality vs. quantity. The mainstream media have come a long way in advancing the cause of women and moving away from either sexualising or victimising them. But a lot still needs to be done to ensure fair representation.” AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER UGANDA 2016 41