SECTOR 4 The Times encourages its practising journalists to seek additional training in Swaziland or beyond, and provides leave for them to attend short-term courses of up to a month. Although the publisher has been known to pay for such training, this is rare, and free courses are encouraged to a greater degree. There are no courses at either of the universities for mid-career journalists to upgrade their skills, although MISA and various CSOs regularly offer short workshops on specific topics (e.g. gender reporting). Panellists were sceptical of any positive impact from such workshops, however. 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: 2.9 (2005: 1.9; 2007: 3.8; 2009: 2.1; 2011: 3.3) 4.8 Equal opportunities regardless of race or ethnicity, social group, gender/sex, religion, disabilities and age are promoted in media houses. There is a large discrepancy in the numbers of men and women working in the media, with the industry being made up predominantly of men. About 80 percent of the staff at the Times, both in management and in the newsroom, are male. However, there is a higher percentage of female students training to be journalists at the University of Swaziland. Most of the SBIS journalists are men, as “female journalists are not seen to be serious” about their work. This is because they may need to take maternity leave, and working long hours is problematic for those women with children. Most of the SBIS management is male, although there is greater gender balance among the heads of sections. All the journalists at the Independent are men. The Nation has only a handful of staff members, with one male and one female journalist. Openly gay or lesbian journalists are unheard of in Swaziland, and panellists noted this is a general cultural taboo. “You would not want to come out in Swaziland.” AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER Swaziland 2014 65