Consider women for managerial positions, media houses urged

By Ann Zulu

MEDIA houses should consider giving female journalists leadership positions to address gender disparities in the media, Gender Minister Victoria Kalima has said.

 Gender Minister Victoria Kalima

Ms Kalima observed that despite the increase in the number of female journalists in Zambia, few hold senior and management positions.

“In Zambia today, we are very lucky to have a lot of female journalists and these women are hardworking. But despite having more women joining the media fraternity, only a few of them are holding top positions,” Ms Kalima said.

“The challenge of gender disparities in the media still remains as majority of people holding leadership positions are men, yet we have a lot of hardworking female journalists.  It is rare that we see women in senior and management positions both in the private and public media. It is high time that women are given opportunities to lead media in institutions,” she said.

The minister told this reporter in an interview that having more women leading media institutions would help address challenges affecting women and girls such as gender based violence, child marriages and gender inequalities, among others.

“Not having a lot of women holding senior positions in the media is hindering our aspiration of gender equality. The fact that we do not have women in leadership positions means that we will not have stories of women and girls in the papers, TV and radio,” she said.

“But if we have more women in top positions, women’s voices will be heard because women are game changers and they will fight for equality. I am confident that we will even have more stories of women and girls making headlines. But as it is now, women are considered not to be newsmakers and that has to change,” she added.

Ms Kalima said her ministry will work hard to ensure that the gender equality and equity law as contained in the Constitution was implemented as directed by President Lungu and the Patriotic Front to ensure that gender equality was achieved in Zambia.

“As a ministry, we will start sensitizing the private and public sector on what the Constitution says; we need to see to it that if we have male CEO then the deputy should be a female, we want to end that gender imbalance.”