We in the media hold ourselves up as guardians of the greater good and as supplicants to the Constitution. A preliminary study focusing the camera on the state of women in the industry shows how far we still have to go.
The survey’s portrayal is not flattering. One male editor assessed a woman trainee by asking whether she was “man enough” for the job. Another summed up a female trainee as “surprisingly reticent for such an attractive young woman”.
The study’s findings took me by surprise, for I exist in a cocoon at the Mail & Guardian. Female leadership is in the newspaper’s DNA and has been ever since veteran Barbara Ludman would (loudly) critique founding editor Anton Harber’s leaders in full hearing of the entire newsroom. Women like then-journalists Charlotte Bauer, Pat Sidley and Portia Maurice, to name a few, brooked nothing other than full equality. So when I was appointed editor in 2004, I settled in fairly easily.
We’ve tinkered since. The weekly bar council (the traditional newsroom drinks evening) has been replaced by a salad club; we occasionally do boykie posters (like Zinadine Zidane’s post-World Cup special) but on the whole, I inherited a liberated space.
Of course, there is work to be done on greater flexibility in working hours, but the hard work of pay parity, maternity leave and a culture of equality is largely in place.
Imagine my shock then at reading the findings of the South African National Editors’ Forum’s (Sanef) Glass Ceiling study, coordinated by Professor Lizette Rabe of Stellenbosch University. It paints a picture of an industry stuck in the dark ages.
Almost one-third of Sanef’s members responded (40 out of 150 members). Most of the responses came from among our senior women, representing a cross-section of media.
Their story is one of cosy boys’ clubs and of senior female journalists for whom the promise of freedom is not arriving. Simple benefits like maternity leave are not easily granted. They spoke of hurdles so arcane it belies the image of an institution that should be at the forefront of best practice.
As Rabe acerbically noted, it has taken Sanef three years to get the study done.
Women spoke about the intrinsic maleness of newsrooms and an ingrained sense of entitlement. They reported that senior female journalists adopted the perceptions and prejudices of their male colleagues in order to win acceptance.
They complained that there is no emotional commitment to equity, which is viewed as just another box to tick. And they reported a backlash: in the ribald and irreverent atmosphere that is the newsroom, the topic of employment equity as it relates to women has become one of jibe and cynicism. This does not create a healthy atmosphere for discussion, let alone advancement.
What shall we do?
With a Constitution and laws to back us up, there is no need to feel the victim. Sanef needs to lead by popularising this research within the industry. We must take it into newsrooms, talk about it and show that non-sexism is a right of equal value to non-racialism.
Our research is qualitative and limited to Sanef, so we need an industry-wide audit to gauge what’s really happening.
Sanef is not a trade union and all we can do is raise consciousness, research and lobby. Beyond that, it’s up to the industry, which needs firstly political will and then a plan that is open to scrutiny.
Years ago, when the impetus for racial transformation began, journalists did not accept that it could be “business as usual” in the media.
Now it’s time to show that women are more than man enough and that we are, surprisingly, not reticent.
Ferial Haffajee is editor of the M&G and chairperson of Sanef
Celebrating accomplished women
It’s 2002 and I am considering why it is that many competent women in the media, who are leaders and thought shapers, remain unrecognised, writes Sandra Gordon.
Fast-track to 2006. We have four years of the MTN Women in the Media Awards behind us. We have celebrated the accomplishments of 30 women, all of whom have achieved more than what is expected of them within a business framework and worked tirelessly beyond those borders. They have proven that they can handle the hard edge of business with humility and courage, often in difficult situations that include gender bias and racism.
They are judged for their contribution to the fourth estate across the social, political and economic landscape, and many have contributed significantly over the past three decades without a smidgen of recognition — none sought, none gained.
All of our carefully selected finalists have demonstrated the characteristics that male-dominated business manuals tell us are necessary for exceptional leadership — they are collaborative, empathetic, good communicators, willing listeners and less combative than their male colleagues
What they lack is exposure to other like-minded women, and being in a place where camaraderie is palpable and achievement celebrated. That is what our award process offers.
Sandra Gordon is publisher of The Media magazine