Balancing the gender gap in the media

Abstract

Abstract by author:

The media is one of the most powerful forces on earth today that shapes the way people think, (Lowe-Morna, 2001:33). It is however indicated that reports in the media are biased towards men, (Lowe-Morna, 2001:33). It is possible that the lack of sensitisation on gender issues of media owners as well as journalists, contribute to imbalances in the media, therefore resulting in a major gender gap in coverage. Further on, it was the thesis of this study that women will only be empowered once media owners are sensitised and made aware of gender in their reports. The purpose of this study was to determine the gender gaps that exist in the news media and to find out the main reasons behind the absence of women in coverage. The study also took a look at the type of news stories allocated to both women and men and compared their differences. This thesis was based on a content analysis study in the case of Quantitative research while as in terms of Qualitative research; this involved the observation of two local Newspapers with main emphasis on the stories allocated to both women and men. Qualitative data was collected from chosen women's organizations in Windhoek as well as editors and journalists from the two newspapers under study