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 (2008 =n/a; 2006 = n/a) 2.7 All media fairly reflect the voices of both women and men. The voices of women are not reflected sufficiently. Women tend to feature in news coverage in a negative context - for example, as victims of violence. “Women are not considered newsmakers. Predominantly, it is men who are considered by the media to be newsmakers in terms of interviews, profiles, and (being quoted as news) sources.” During elections, female candidates attract some media coverage, but overall, coverage is not balanced, and reflects the country’s patriarchal culture. “Even when women are involved in something, only male voices are reflected.” Two studies were cited to illustrate this imbalance in the media’s coverage: The Gender and Media Progress Study, and the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMPP). The latter found that only 17% of the media’s coverage included “women’s voices” - the lowest ratio in southern Africa. “Even when women are sources of information, the story still talks about men,” one panellist pointed out. “Even when women are involved in something, only male voices are reflected.” Panellists felt this bias reflects a serious lack of professionalism within the media, which appears determined to ignore 51 percent of the population. This is in spite of the fact that more women work for the media in Lesotho - decision-making positions included - than anywhere else in southern Africa (see discussion on indicator 4.4). One panellist contended that the gender bias in the media’s coverage is all the more serious given that 58 percent of local government representatives are women. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER LESOTHO 2010 33