31 SOUTHERN AFRICA PRESS FREEDOM REPORT 2019-2020 This is the pattern across the region as men dominate in beats that are prominent, and that offer high profile assignments which enhance chances of gaining professional recognition (e.g through awards) and accelerate career progression toward decision-making roles. Since the majority of managers are male, the status of women in the media is largely determined (and maintained) by men. • Unequal remuneration: There are generally no minimum wage standards for journalists in most countries in the region leaving the issue of remuneration open to manipulation by male-dominated newsrooms at the expense of females. In countries like Lesotho, journalists’ salaries are determined by negotiations with employers, who are males in most cases (23) and in Zambia (24) female journalists contend with poor salaries and rare promotions. • Sexual harassment on the job: Genderbased violations such as sexual harassment are a significant impediment to the work of female media practitioners across the region. Sexual harassment refers to unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature (25) from within media institutions as well as from sources. Within the region, sexual harassment is a cause for concern in countries where newsrooms are overwhelmingly male-dominated and include perpetrators of sexual abuse among their staff (26) . The non-reporting of sexual harassment gives rise to the general impression that workplace sexual harassment is not common or serious, yet, it is a significant problem that continues to remain largely invisible, shrouded in secrecy, stigma, shame and fear of retaliation and is a vicious cycle that ought to be continuously addressed (27). This reality is further stressed in a study by the United Nations Human Rights High Commission (28) , which revealed that gender based violence against women journalists has been increasing over the past decade and continues to form part of the daily routine of women journalists and media workers who are subjected to intimidation, threats of rape, threats against family and sexual harassment. • Gender-based discrimination: Pregnancy and motherhood (29), are frequently used as factors upon which women are discriminated against and denied employment or promotion. These are unfairly perceived to be obstacles to a woman’s ability to perform professionally. They are also anticipated as potential threats to a woman’s long-term commitment to a job. This discrimination is compounded by the prevalence of working structures, norms and practices that function to disadvantage women relative to men. ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENTIAL IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON FEMALE JOURNALISTS The media hierarchy places men as the major decision makers since most managerial positions are occupied by males. This means decision-making about how to operate during the pandemic largely excluded women’s input since women in the media occupy a low status in institutional structures. • A (30) study of covering seven Southern Africa countries revealed that female journalists reported feeling the impact of Covid-19 lockdowns because they were expected to put in extra hours, whilst working from home meant that their unpaid care responsibilities had also increased. There is no evidence of consultation within media organisations to solicit the input from employees regarding how best to transition to remote working set ups. This suggests that decisions were made at managerial level and largely failed to factor in how female staff might be affected by unpaid care duties at a time when children would have been forced to stay home for weeks on end, requiring parental supervision. • The Covid-19 crisis reinforced women’s marginalisation within media decision-making. Although Covid-19 was largely covered using politicised news frames, it remained within the domain of health reporting which, as a ‘soft beat’ which would have more likely had a higher proportion of female reporters. Female health reporters, were assigned to be on the frontlines of covering Covid-19 sometimes without personal protective equipment (PPE) placing them at increased risk (e.g journalists in Botswana were forced to quarantine with together with members of Parliament after a nurse who was assisting at Parliament tested positive (31)). In some countries such as in South Africa and