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: 1.9 (2008: n/a; 2006: n/a) 2.7 All media fairly reflect the voices of both women and men. Generally, women do not get enough coverage by the media. A study commissioned by the Ghana Media Standards Improvement Project in 2010 showed that the voices of women are generally underrepresented in the media. For instance, in social news, 18 per cent coverage was given to women compared with 82 per cent for men. When quotes are attributed, 24 per cent of men were quoted directly while women were usually paraphrased. Stories on politics are dominated by men, reflecting the overall gender imbalance which is a major characteristic of Ghanaian society. Men are always in the forefront because ‘hard’ rather than ‘soft issues’ determine coverage and discussions in all media: “There is a market looking for hard news”. Owners of print and broadcasting houses are also mainly men. Coverage is generally skewed against women. For example, during strike actions or demonstrations, those who get interviewed are men - those who usually lead the action. Women’s concerns are not heard because they are not asked for their opinions. This might be explained by the tendency that in such cases interviewers mainly approach the leaders of the action, who always happen to be men rather than focusing on the issues which affect both women and men. In recent times, however, things seem to be changing. There is now greater participation of women in radio and television programmes, for example in phone-in shows. One example cited was a sports show, traditionally considered as the preserve of men, where as many female as male callers spoke out. 28 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER GHANA 2011