EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This audit of women and men in Botswana media houses is part of the Glass Ceilings: Women and Men in Southern African Media Study conducted by Gender Links (GL) in Botswana. The findings will be used in a global study by the International Media Women’s Federation (IMWF), through the Gender and Media Diversity Centre (GMDC). The centre is a partnership between media-development organisations and training and higher-learning institutions for the “collection and connection” of knowledge, and “collaboration” to advance gender equality and diversity in media across the globe. The GMDC has also facilitated partnerships around the fourth Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP), and second Gender and Media Baseline Study (GMBS) to take place in 2009/2010.

The study took place in the context of the August 2008 Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Gender and Development, which urges the media and all decision-making bodies in the region to achieve gender parity by 2015. The gender protocol also calls for the mainstreaming of gender in all media laws, policies and training. It urges the media to give equal voice to women and men, challenge gender stereotypes and ensure balance and sensitivity in all coverage - especially that relating to gender violence.

In Botswana the study is based on research in five media houses, with a total of 886 employees. Researchers conducted in-depth case studies of two media houses, and interviewed six journalists/senior managers/editors for their perspectives on the results. A further 33 staff responded to perception questionnaires. In total, 126 media houses (about half of all media houses1) in 142 of the 15 countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) representing 23 684 employees participated in the research. Some 463 respondents filled in perception questionnaires. Relevant regional comparisons are made throughout the report.

This report should be read in tandem with the regional report: “Glass Ceilings: Women and Men in the Southern African Media.” Keabonye Ntsabane, Co-ordinator of the Gender Links Botswana office, undertook the research in Botswana as well as case studies and profiles with the assistance of Roos van Dorp, Gender Links Botswana Programme Assistant. Sikhonzile Ndlovu, GL media literacy co-ordinator, compiled this report. GL executive director Colleen Lowe Morna and deputy director Kubi Rama edited the final report with assistance from freelance editor Helen Grange.

Key findings of the study are:

• There are more men than women in Botswana media houses:
  Men constitute 58% of employees in media houses, 16% more than the 42% women employees. The proportion of women in Botswana media houses is slightly higher than the regional average of 41% women in Southern African media houses.
• But there are differences between media houses:
  Three media houses in Botswana have exceeded parity, with more women than men. The Voice newspaper has the highest proportion of women at 55% followed by Mass Media Complex Information Services at 54% and Broadcasting Services at 41%. Dikgang Publishing Company and Yarona FM still have a long way to go at 28% and 26% women respectively.
• Women constitute under a quarter of the board of directors:
  Women constitute 24% of those on boards of directors in media houses in Botswana, compared to 28% in the regional study.
• But they feature slightly better in top management:
  Women occupy 30% of top management posts in media houses in Botswana; more than the regional average of 23% women in top management.
• Women constitute over a third of senior management:
  Women make up 39% of those in senior management in media houses in Botswana; higher than the regional average of 28%. The Botswana and regional findings for women in senior management show that women are more likely to appear in junior positions than senior management positions.
• Conditions of employment for women vary:
  Women (100%) in Botswana media houses are more likely than men to be employed part-time. The regional average for women working part-time is 23%. On the other hand they stand almost the same chance as men to be employed on full-time, open-ended contracts with 51% representation in this category. This is significantly higher than the regional average of 42%.
• Women dominate in the Human Resources and Finance and Administration departments:
  The proportion of women in Human Resources is 81% and 67% in Finance and Administration. Men dominate in the Technical/IT department with 100% representation.
• More women in production departments than in the region:
  In Botswana 50% of those in the production departments in media houses are women; this is higher than the regional average of 30%.
• Fewer women in editorial departments:
  At 36% women in editorial, Botswana is lower than the regional average of 42%.
• The gender division of labour in “beats” is still pronounced:
  Male journalists dominate in all the “hard” beats such as labour (100%), economics/business/finance (100%) and science and technology (100%). In Botswana women journalists predominate in religion (100%); health (100%) and entertainment/arts/culture (100%).
• There are no targets in place for achieving gender parity in media houses:
  None of the media houses in Botswana could declare targets for ensuring gender equality in line with the SADC 2015 parity goal.
• Furthering the careers of women in Botswana media houses is not a priority:
  No media house in Botswana has strategies to fast-track women. The region is no better, with only 10% of firms applying such strategies. Women stand a slightly better chance when it comes to promotion strategies for women, with 20% of the companies saying they have these in place.
• There is not enough effort to target good women candidates:
  Some 20% of media houses in the sample stated they had a database of women candidates, and 40% target women. Broadcasting Services and Dikgang Publishing do try to recruit women. In the regional sample 36% of media houses have a database of women candidates and a much higher number (54%) of media houses in the region target women for jobs.
• There is a high commitment to maternity but not paternity leave:
  Four- fifth of media houses in Botswana said they offered maternity leave - slightly lower than the regional average of 81%. Only 20% offer paternity leave. This is lower than the regional average of 33%.
• Child care and flexi time are not a priority:
  None of the media houses in the Botswana sample offered child care facilities, compared to 15% in the regional sample. Only 20% of media houses in Botswana have flexi hours – much lower than the region’s 75% average.
• Fewer gender policies than sexual harassment policies:
  Only 20% of media houses in Botswana have gender policies, while 60% have sexual harassment policies. Sixty per cent say they need to improve existing policies. Only 16% of media firms in the SADC region have gender policies compared to 28% with sexual harassment policies. Sixty-eight per cent are keen to improve their policies or formulate gender policies.

BOTSWANA MEDIA CONTEXT

Country context

Botswana is a landlocked Southern African country bordered by South Africa to the south, Zimbabwe to the north-east, Zambia to the north, and Namibia to the west and north-west. Botswana gained its independence on September 30, 1966. The 1.8 million citizens of this sparsely populated semi-desert country have enjoyed democratic freedoms found in few other African countries. F:Botswana press.htm. Botswana is relatively free of corruption and has a good human rights record, (BBC News Africa/Country profiles). After independence the government’s national broadcaster, Radio Botswana, took off - as did a government daily newssheet (distributed free) (F:Botswana media.htm). Private media, notably weekly newspapers and local branches of multinational educational publishers, and low-powered television transmissions in select urban areas, came on stream in the early 1980s.

The first newspaper in Setswana, the national language of Botswana, was published in 1897. Other Setswana newspapers followed, but with a notable gap in Botswana's period of great poverty, between 1910 and the 1940s. Botswana also has vibrant private media. Mmegi, Echo, The Gazette, The Guardian, Midweek Sun and The Voice are some of the private newspapers operating in Botswana. There are also a number of private radio stations which include Yarona FM, Gabz FM and Duma FM. State television was late in coming to Botswana, as Botswana Television was established only in 1999, to begin broadcasting in 2000. There is one private television media house Gaborone Broadcasting Company that can be accessed in Gaborone.

News agencies

The Botswana Press Agency (BOPA) is a government-owned domestic news agency. Foreign news agencies, including the South African Press Association and Reuters, have operated freely in the country.

Regulation

The Botswana independence constitution of September 1966 (amended in August and September 1997) guaranteed freedom of expression to all citizens. Unlike many African countries, where the ruling party bans opposition views and news from newspapers, radio and television, Botswana has allowed a diversity of views and robust debate in the electronic and print media. The country has indeed a long tradition of lively and unimpeded public debate, although opposition leaders claim the government limits their ability to broadcast freely on the radio. The constitution provides for freedom of expression and the government generally respects this right. (BBC News Africa/Country profiles)

The Botswana print media are particularly strong, and operate with little or no government restrictions. Relations with the government are good. The Media Bill passed by parliament on the 10th December 2008 is seen by media practitioners in Botswana as a way of curtailing freedom of expression. The Bill provides for the setting up of a statutory media regulatory body and the mandatory registration of media workers.

Gender and media in Botswana

The Gender and Media Baseline Study (GMBS) of 2003 found that women constituted 16% of news sources in Botswana. In the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) conducted two years later, there was no change recorded in the proportion of female news sources, with the figure still at 16%. Women’s voices are absent in certain occupational categories such as mining, politics and sports, but they do dominate as home-makers and beauty contestants, with 100% representation in both categories. Women’s voices are likewise heard on topics linked to their nurturing and emotional side.

For example, the topic where women outnumber men is children (100%) and gender violence (60%). The GMBS also found that all media, print and broadcast, have fewer women than men. While previous regional and international studies, such as the GMBS and the GMMP, focused on the representation and portrayal of gender in the editorial content in the media, this study seeks to probe the gender dimensions of media institutions and practices, and how this affects media output.

METHODOLOGY

Botswana is a “low-density” country. Table one shows that the sample of five media houses, with a total of 890 employees, included state/public media; broadcast and print media, private/commercial and community media. Human resources managers or payroll administrators provided most of the data, while those who responded to perception questionnaires did so in interviews. The data for Glass Ceilings: Women and Men in the Southern African Media were collected in July-August 2008. Several media houses declined to answer questions on remuneration. The research team gathered and compiled all the questionnaire findings using Ms-Excel spreadsheets to generate graphs and tables.

FINDINGS

Women are under-represented overall

As in the region, women are under-represented in Botswana media houses. Figure one shows that women constitute 42% and men 58% of those in Botswana media houses and in the region women constitute 41% and men 59%. In most cases, media houses still fall far short of the SADC target of gender parity by 2015. As illustrated in Figure two, two media houses in Botswana (The Voice newspaper and Mass Media Complex) have over 50% women. The Voice newspaper has the highest number of women at 55% followed by the public enterprise Mass Media Complex, at 54%, and Broadcasting Services, which houses Botswana Television and Radio Botswana, at 41% women. However two media houses in the sample are still lagging behind in terms of achieving parity. Dikgang Publishing and Yarona FM, for example, have 28% and 26% female representation respectively.

Why are there fewer women in Botswana media houses?

Figures three and four reflect the top three reasons that women and men attributed to having fewer women in media houses. A quarter of the women (25%) cited the difficulty to juggle responsibilities as the main reason for fewer women in media houses - a reason cited by only 6% of men. Almost one in five men (18%) said there were not enough women training as journalists. Twenty per cent of women and 6% of men cited discouraging work conditions as another reason why there were fewer female staff. Eighteen per cent of women and 12% of men believe women do not have enough role models to encourage them to join media houses.

One female respondent from The Voice feels women work long hours and do not have time for a social life, let alone to sustain relationships. As a result most end up as single parents. Across the Southern African region women and men cited discouraging work environments and difficulties in juggling responsibilities as key reasons for fewer women in media houses. The regional findings are similar to the Botswana findings in that discouraging working conditions and difficulty in juggling responsibilities were cited by women as the top two reasons for low numbers of women. The opinion that not enough women train as journalists is held by 17% of men and 15% of women in Botswana.

Missing from action!

One in five women (20%) in Botswana cited discouraging working conditions as a main reason for there being fewer women than men in media houses. The next most common reason cited is the difficulty of juggling responsibilities. Women in most countries have dual roles, and often find it hard to balance family and professional responsibilities. As a result women opt for occupations that do not exert the same pressure. Pamela Dube, editor of The Voice newspaper, says there are few women in the media industry, and the recruitment pool is thus very small. Francinah Baaitse, a reporter at The Voice newspaper, said long working hours plus domestic responsibilities had seen many women quit journalism and opt for public relations.

This view is shared by Mmasechaba Mokone, of Dikgang Publishing’s Mmegi newspaper. She says the working conditions do not encourage women to apply, and it is exhausting to work for a daily newspaper as well as cope with family responsibilities.

The fact that journalism is seen as a “24-hour job” has made women shy away from it. Felicities Mashungwa Mdlalose, general manager of Radio Botswana, says “As women grow older and have families, the hustle and bustle of the profession encroaches on their family life, and they prefer to settle for an ‘eight-to-five’ job.” Kaombona Utjiwa Kanani, a senior reporter with Echo newspaper, also cites the difficulty of juggling responsibilities as contributing to the low numbers of women in editorial offices. He says women have biological factors to deal with that can work against them. Kanani says for example when a woman falls pregnant the work suffers, and a replacement must be found. This comment added to the perception that employers are not sensitive to the extra responsibilities women carry, and regard these as disruptive and expensive.

Kanani also says “None has ever been refused a job for being a woman.” If women give in to oppression “it is their choice, and they should learn to raise their voices against this”. In essence Kanani says women should fight where they feel they have been treated unfairly. Seventeen per cent of men in Botswana feel the low number of women in editorial offices is because not many women train as journalists. A male journalist from Echo was quoted saying ‘Women don’t train as journalists because a number of them don’t seem to be interested as witnessed by the low level of applications to train as journalists. They would rather flock to careers such as nursing.”

The reasons cited by women speak to the dual role women play in society, making it difficult to juggle personal and professional responsibilities. Working conditions in the media industry do not make their situation easier. Men on the other hand do not accept that the non-conducive working environment is a factor. They say women have been given opportunities equal to those of men to be part of the media industry, and it is up to them to take control. They seem oblivious to the other pressures put on women by society.

Women are under-represented in the top echelons

The study sought to establish the numbers of women and men in the different occupational levels in media houses. Table two provides a description of which positions fall within which categories. Figure six shows women (92%) are concentrated in the semi-skilled and unskilled (67%) levels in media houses in Botswana, while men dominate in boards of directors (76%), top management (70%) and among the professionally qualified (72%). This means men dominate in decision-making levels while women are visible in the non-decision-making levels. As in Botswana, men in regional media houses are more likely to be in decision-making positions. For example they represent 77% of top management, 72% of board of directors and 72% senior management.

Women have a higher representation in lower levels, such as the semi-skilled and unskilled categories. These categories do not give them decision-making powers. This is illustrated in figures five and six. Commendably the majority of women in Botswana and regional media houses do not fall under non-permanent employment, a most insecure category. Botswana media houses and the region have 38% women and 36% respectively. The skilled technical category is generally a male preserve: in Botswana women comprise a third (32%) of this category, lower than the regional average of 45%. This is also true for the boards of directors, with women making up only 24% in Botswana and 28% in the region’s media houses.

Variations by media house

There are, however, considerable differences between media houses. For example, figure seven shows that women constitute 100% of the board of the Mass Media Complex Information Services while men make up 100% of the board at Dikgang Publishing. Yarona FM has only 17% women on its board, while The Voice has a male component of 33%. In Botswana 23% of women and 36% of men say the absence of policies to advance women in media houses is the main reason why there are fewer women in senior positions. Twenty-one per cent of women also believe men are taken more seriously, a view men do not share.

A significant number of men (14%) believe women do not apply for top positions, while 15% of women cite the ‘old-boys network’ as a big barrier to women’s advancement. Only 7% of men share this opinion. Respondents in the rest of the region cited the ‘oldboys network’ as the main reason for women not advancing, with men citing “no policies to advance women” and women saying “men are taken more seriously” as their second reasons.

Conditions of employment

The study found men had more favourable working conditions than female counterparts. The positions occupied by women and men as well as the terms and conditions of service determine what they earn, and can be a significant barrier to achieving gender parity. Figures 12 and 13 illustrate the conditions of service for media practitioners in Botswana and the Southern African region. The most secure form of employment is full- time, open-ended contracts - something Botswana media houses have done well. Botswana women make up more than half (51%) of those with this type of contract, compared to the regional average of 42%. But the part-time staff are all women (100%), leaving them most insecure. In the region women make up 23% of part-time staff.

The next most secure form of employment is full-time, fixed-term contracts. Men constitute 75% of these, which is higher than the regional average of 63% for men and 37% for women. Women in Botswana constitute 22% of freelancers, while in the region this is 43%. Interestingly while women are the majority of part-time employees (100%) in media houses in Botswana, in the region they constitute a lower percentage of 23%. The high proportion of female part-time employees may be indicative of the dual role women play in society, as they try to balance work and family responsibilities.

Conditions of employment per media house

There seems to be a correlation between the high representation of women in Botswana media houses and the possibility of them getting open-ended contracts. For example, the top three media houses in terms of percentage of female staff also have the highest percentages of women with full-time, open-ended contracts. The two media houses with fewer women have lower percentages of women with full-time, open-ended contracts. The Voice newspaper is leading at 60% followed by the two state media enterprises Broadcasting Services (55%) and Mass Media Complex Information Services (54%), Dikgang Publishing and Yarona FM have 35% and 28% respectively

Gender division of labour in the media

Women in media houses in Botswana and the region dominate in the finance and administration department. In Botswana there is 67% women in finance and administration, significantly higher the region’s 54%. In the other departments there are no similarities between Botswana and regional proportions. For example in Botswana women dominate in the human resources department at 81%, while the regional figure is just below half at 44%. In the region women also dominate in the advertising and marketing department at 57%, differing from Botswana where the proportion is 38%.

In total contrast to the rest of the region (an interesting gender bender) the other two departments that have parity in Botswana media houses are production (50%) and printing and distribution (50%). In Botswana and the region women are least well represented in technical/IT departments. It comes as a shock that there are no women at all in the IT departments of Botswana media. In the region the figure is low, but women did at least represent 16% of this category. Women are also least represented in the editorial department in Botswana (36%) with the region at (42%). Women in design are at 38% and 31% in Botswana and the region respectively.

No differences in average earnings in the media houses that gave this data

The Voice, Yarona FM , Dikgang Publishing and Broadcasting Services provided average earnings for women and men. In these media houses, women earn on average slightly more than men with an average annual salary of BWP 83 865 compared to BWP83 383 in the case of men. These figures do not reflect differences in earnings of women and men at the same level, but are arrived at by dividing the total annual earnings of women by the number of women, and total annual earnings of men by the number of men. In other institutions men earn, on average, considerably more than women because they are at higher levels and in better remunerated areas of work, like the technical side of the media. It is however difficult to draw out conclusions from the Botswana data because the Mass Media Complex, constituting 55% of the employees in the sample, did not provide this information.

Gender division of labour across beats

The beats assigned to male and to female journalists indicate how editorial departments view the roles of women and men in society. Beats are significant because they also have a bearing on promotion prospects, with “hard” beats a more likely ticket to the top. Figure 16 illustrates the top three beats for women in Botswana with only women covering health, religion, entertainment/arts/culture, and only men covering labour, science and technology and economics/business/finance. Figure 17 shows that in the region, gender equality, gender violence and health topped the list for women, while investigative or in-depth reporting, politics, youth and sport topped the list for men. However, none of these were exclusively male or female.

Table three, reflecting the findings for all beats, shows there are some interesting gender benders in the Botswana media. An equal proportion of women and men cover crime and sport compared to the region in where women make up 37% of crime reporters and 24% of sport reporters. But women still dominate in entertainment/arts/culture, health and religion, with men predominant in hard news such as agriculture, science and technology and economics/business/finance. There is a similar pattern in the region, with women concentrating on softer beats and men predominant in hard news. For example men have 80% representation in investigative/in-depth reports, 76% in sport, 75% in political stories and 74% in labour stories.

The beat goes on?

Despite the gender gaps on news beats, there appears to be no strategy to break the stereotypes of women covering soft beats. Buyani Zongwani, assigning editor for Botswana Television, sees nothing wrong with women covering softer beats compared to men. He says: “When we have brain storming on story ideas they do guide the newsroom on various issues such as fashion, HIV and Aids, women and children’s rights. Our health desk is dominated by women. Asked what strategies can be used to ensure there are more women in media, he says ‘Those who have fewer women in their newsroom can create a specialised desk, where women are more competent than men.”

This suggests that women and man have different capabilities, and he further demonstrates this view by adding: “For example, creation of a social desk, a health desk and kids’ news.” Masego Pilane, a senior journalist at Information Services, is one woman who has broken these gender stereotypes. She is a high-flying journalist who says covering the All Africa games was a highlight of her career. She has won awards for excellent sports reporting. But this did not come easy. As she says, “Other sports journalists did not take me and other women sports journalists seriously.” She feels female journalists are prejudiced because of their sex and their stories are always looked at with a negative eye, leading to over scrutiny. Men do not have to constantly prove their worth the way women have to do.

Making a difference?

The study sought to seek out opinions on whether having more women in media houses makes a difference. The Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) 2005 showed that women journalists are more likely than men to consult female opinion, but this does not mean that 50% of their sources are women. In the Southern African analysis of the global study, female sources constituted 28% of the total sources consulted by women journalists, compared to 19% consulted by male journalists. The comparable figures in the global study were 25% for women and 20% for men. With the exception of Angola, women consulted female sources more than men did in every country of the region, with some women journalists consulting female sources up to 40% of the time.4

Table four shows that women disagree that there is no relationship between having women in the media and achieving gender balance and sensitivity in media coverage in Botswana. On the other hand 17% of men claim there is no relationship.

The percentage of male journalists (25%) who believe women are more likely to seek out female opinion is much lower than the percentage of women (42%) who agree with this view. Half of women (50%) and more than half of men (54%) believe female journalists are more likely to cover gender-related topics, and that where women are in senior management positions, gender is likely to be taken seriously. Less than half of women believe “women are their own worst enemies”, while in Botswana 77% of men believe they are.

Both women and men overwhelmingly believe “men can be as gender-aware as women”. In the region women and men agree that female journalists are more likely to cover gender-related topics than male journalists. They are also in agreement that men can be as gender-aware and sensitive as women. Less than half of the women and men (both at 45%) believe women are their own worst enemies. More than half the women (53%) and 50% of men felt it was crucial to have a “critical mass” of women in the media if they were to make a difference in editorial offices in Southern Africa. In Botswana less than half of the women (45%) felt it was crucial to have a critical mass of women. More men (64%) believed a critical mass of women made a difference in the way they behaved.

Critical mass?

Botswana women interviewed said a “critical mass of women” would make a difference in their media houses. They argued that having many women in media houses ensured that women’s issues were taken seriously. One male editor commented that having more women ensured efficiency in the workplace. But most men felt women were not treated differently in media houses because of numbers. One male respondent said “For me they are like other journalists and we hardly recognise their gender.” Yet they agree to a large extent that a critical mass is crucial. Men feel it is up to women to ensure that they make a positive contribution in the media. They feel women sometimes expect preferential treatment - a luxury that the cut-throat media industry cannot afford.

Workplace policies and practices

The workplace environment has a substantial bearing on achieving gender parity in media houses. Respondents indicated what practices or policies their companies had put in place to increase women’s participation and representation in media houses. Among others, these included whether they had gender policies (or wished to have one); affirmative action (fast-tracking), career pathing and promotion. Table 5 summarises what proportion of the media houses checked “yes” to having the following policies or practices in place.

Affirmative action

Despite the SADC target of achieving gender parity in media houses by 2015, only 40% of media houses in Botswana indicated they had specific targets for achieving gender equality, compared to the regional average of 54%. As in Botswana, a high proportion of women and men in regional media houses did not support quotas. Thirty-three per cent of women and 53% of men in Botswana do not advocate for quotas. In the region the percentages are even higher, with 49% of women and 59% of men saying quotas are unfair. While 27% women and 20% men in the region supported quotas for achieving gender equality in the media, in Botswana only 7% of the men, compared to 27% of the women supported such measures.

Recruitment

Only 20% of media houses in Botswana stated that they had data banks for women, and another 20% said they used gender-balanced panels. If media houses in Botswana made concerted efforts to achieve gender parity this could see the proportion of women in media houses going beyond the current 42%. It would be crucial though to assess whether women are selected for positions when they have been specifically targeted. According to the responses, close to three-quarters (71%) of job opportunities are advertised in newspapers; 14% on notice boards and another 14% via an employment agency. The information does not show what kinds of jobs are advertised where. Also, a key factor is whether these adverts are being sent to any specific women’s forums and organisations.

Career pathing, fast-tracking and promotion

In a finding very similar to the rest of the region there are no strategies in Botswana media houses to fast-track women within the organisation. While 10% of the media houses in the region have fast-tracking policies, Botswana has none at all. Only a fifth of media houses in Botswana (20%), compared to 32% in the region, seriously consider women for promotion. Succession planning for women in media houses is not on the agenda in Botswana, while in the region it is reasonably there at 35%. Kaombona Utjiwa Kanani, a senior reporter with Echo newspaper, is strongly against deliberate policies to advance women.

He says “Women should not be catapulted by a policy. If it is by a policy that gives women advantage over men then I do not agree.” He feels it should be through their own struggle, and emphasises “It would be wrong to say we want to craft policies for women, specifically to help women only. There are enough opportunities for women. ” A female reporter from GABZ FM who preferred anonymity said ‘gender equality has never been an issue in this media house. It does not really matter if this newsroom crawls with males or females.”

Work environment

Very few media houses in Botswana (20%) offer flexitime; this is much lower than the regional average of 75%. This is contrary to perceptions of women (57%) and men (75%) that the media houses in Botswana are sensitive to, and try to accommodate family life and responsibilities. This is supported by 67% women and 70% men in the region. Table six shows what kinds of gender policy interventions newsrooms say that they have taken to date. Mass Media Complex did not indicate what policies they have in place. Three out of the four media houses that gave information said they had sexual harassment policies.

All four of the media houses that gave information said they had maternity leave. Only Yarona FM said it had paternity leave. Only one out the five media houses (The Voice, which is owned by a woman and has a woman editor) has a gender policy. Sixty per cent of the media houses in Botswana and 68% in the region said they are in favour of improving existing or developing gender policies.

CASE STUDY: BOTSWANA TELEVISION

Botswana Television, or BTV as it is commonly known in Botswana, is Botswana’s state broadcaster. It is housed by Broadcasting Services. Broadcasting Services is managed by the government of Botswana. Botswana television started broadcasting in 2000.

BTV leads the way

BTV has managed to achieve gender parity in its newsroom in terms of the overall staff composition and balancing the numbers of women and men in senior positions. This has been achieved through deliberate commitments to achieve gender parity. BTV has a total staff complement of thirty two and twenty of these are women representing 63%. The television station has ensured that gender parity in the newsroom goes beyond numbers by taking into account the importance of positioning. 30% of the women hold management positions in the newsroom. 1 is head of news, another one assignment editor and 4 are editors. 70% are reporters.

Mosetsana Maribe, head of news at BTV, said when recruiting new employees they try to balance the candidates by getting almost the same numbers of qualified women and men. Gender balance does not mean hiring women without adequate qualifications just for the sake of numbers. Maribe said “We invite the best male and female candidates when recruiting new employees.” As proof of these statements, BTV‘s head of news and current affairs is female.

Women are well represented at all levels, and they are not concentrated in junior levels. Maribe emphasised that “Our recruitment process secures the balance in the representation of males and females in this newsroom, and this is how we sustain gender parity.” BTV’s strong recruitment drive has ensured that there is a pool of women in the media houses who can then rise to top positions. As some respondents pointed out the low number of women in media houses has directly contributed to the low proportion of women in senior positions. News editor Christopher Nyanga stressed the importance of having women in senior positions as a way of maintaining parity.

This should, however, be based on capabilities and potential. Maribe underscored the importance of gender parity by saying this helped create a balance in reporting, as women and men looked at issues differently. The presence of women had encouraged debate on editorial ideas, leading to better output. Nyanga concurred, saying women helped by bringing different voices to news. Women’s perspectives were sometimes ignored by male journalists, but female journalists ensured that this anomaly was dealt with.

Female journalist Oesi Sebusang pointed out that women generally feel freer in such a newsroom, and there are low levels of intimidation, hence women’s ability to participate more in decision-making. She says women are very expressive, and have created an environment conducive for debate on topical issues. Sebusang also said it is now a lot easier to cover women’s issues, because there are enough voices in the newsroom to support such stories. She said this is because during diary sessions there is a lot of debating and mobilising for support before one’s story idea is taken up.

Gender in editorial content

Oesi Sebusang said having a high proportion of women in the newsroom has a huge impact on content, which has changed. Having more women in the newsroom has also meant that women’s issues are given the attention they deserve. Sebusang felt this is especially effective if women are in decision-making positions. Having men at the top can mean efforts to mainstream gender in editorial can be thwarted if there are no women among the decision-makers. Christopher Nyanga also applauds the high proportion of women in the newsroom, as it brings different perspectives. He says this is especially so considering women have for a long time not been represented in many professions, including the media. Nyanga’s assessment was that the newsroom now “covers gender issues because we have women who influence us in that direction”. “This also shows me that male attitudes have changed towards gender issues.”

Way forward

Work still needs to be done to transform BTV’s work environment and bring about conditions that will ensure gender parity and sensitivity in all aspects of operations. The television station does not have a gender policy, but is interested in developing one. Work therefore needs to be done on this. As Gender Links undertakes the next phase of this study - that is assisting media houses and newsrooms to develop gender policies - BTV is one of the media bodies to target. The formulation of policies and strategies to achieve gender parity will not be limited to the television station, as Broadcasting Services also houses Radio Botswana.

It is therefore necessary that Gender Links works with Broadcasting Services as a whole, and have the work cascade to both the radio and television station. Once a gender policy has been formulated it will be important that the television station sets targets for itself, and also finds ways of measuring progress against these targets. The SADC Protocol on Gender and Development sets clear targets for all sectors, including the media. It states that there should be an equal representation of women and men in all areas of decision making by 2015. At the moment BTV has 30% female representation in management. Botswana television could use this to benchmark its progress after the formulation

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The study shows there are fewer women in media houses in Botswana (42%) and particularly on boards of directors, in top management and in skilled technical and professionally qualified categories. The “glass ceiling” is created by the absence of policies to advance women, “old-boys networks”, gender-insensitive work environments and the fact that “men are taken more seriously than women”. Women face glass ceilings in all the departments, except in the support services sections such as human resources and finance and administration. The gender division of labour in beats is still pronounced, with women dominant in soft beats such as religion, entertainment/arts/culture and health. Hard news is still the domain of men, who are predominant in politics, agriculture, labour, science and technology and economics/business/finance.

One of the key findings of this study is that there is a high level of commitment to gender equality in Botswana media houses. But there are no comprehensive and systematic policies and practices to address the gender gap. Only 20% of the companies have gender policies, though 60% say they are keen to have gender policies or a better gender policy. Sexual harassment policies are more popular, with 60% of media firms saying they have one in place.

Recommendations

Respondents were asked what should be done to promote gender balance in media houses. These were their responses Both women and men said that there is need for overall gender policies and gender forums to advance gender equality in the media. While women said that they would like to see an improvement in sexual harassment, men said there is need for more paternity leave.

Key strategies for follow up will include:

• Awareness raising and publicity through the launch of the findings of this research, and workshops to discuss the findings and forge strategies at regional and national level.
• Follow up and supporting the Botswana media houses that expressed interest in developing or improving existing gender policies as a way of addressing gender inequalities in their media houses. This will be done in tandem with the advocacy work around the global Glass Ceiling Study, as well as the 2009/2010 GMMP/GMBS on media content. Ensure that there are functioning sexual harassment policies in all media houses. 
• Follow up with Mass Media Complex Information Services to establish what policies they have in place and what support is needed. 
• Developing strategies that will ensure that the policies are implemented, including the development of monitoring tools for ensuring effective implementation (monitoring and evaluation, self monitoring, career pathing etc) to ensure the goal of gender parity and sensitivity in newsrooms is achieved. 
• Networking with editors’ forums, media unions and media development NGOs for advocacy and lobbying around the SADC Gender Protocol target. 
• Training and development programmes to build the capacity to manage mainstreaming gender at the workplace and in editorial content.

*Editors: Colleen Lowe Morna, Kubi Rama and Sikhonzile Ndlovu  

*NB Echo newspaper and GABZ FM did not complete the quantitative questionnaire, but five employees of Echo and three of GABZ FM responded to the perception questionnaires.

Notes:

1 The Media Action Plan on HIV and Aids and Gender, led by the Southern African Editor’s Forum (SAEF) estimates that there are 255 media houses in the SADC region.

2 The Angolan researcher failed to deliver results on time.
4 Lowe-Morna, Colleen, Mirror on the Media, Who makes the news? Mirror on the Southern African findings of the, Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) 2005, Gender Links 2006.

Contact:
Gender Links
9 Derrick Avenue
Cyrildene, 2198
Johannesburg,
South Africa
Phone: 27 (11) 622 2877
Fax: 27 (11) 622 4732
Email: map@genderlinks.org.za
Website: www.genderlinks.org.za  

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s) and not do necessarily reflect the views of the AfricaFiles' editors and network members. They are included in our material as a reflection of a diversity of views and a variety of issues. Material written specifically for AfricaFiles may be edited for length, clarity or inaccuracies.

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