The delegation in a group photo with Mr Oppong Nkrumah
Alliance for Women in Media Africa (AWMA), has been lauded for their groundbreaking research on the status of women in the Ghanaian Media.
Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, praised the group for doing the hard work of backing their gender advocacy work with empirical data. This he added helps shape meaningful democratic discourse.
“I salute you for this seminal work aimed at supporting the growth of women in Media…As democracy grows, information becomes the lifeblood of democracy and policy discourse,” Mr Kojo Oppong- Nkrumah said.
He gave the commendation when AWMA delegation led by Shamima Muslim, the Convenor paid a courtesy call on the minister to present some intervention materials from their report on the Status of Women in the Ghanaian Media.
Mr Oppong-Nkrumah further charged civil society organisations to do more empirical works to inform as well as enhance democratic conversations.
“Let us use the data, science and empirics to lead conversations. Nobody can argue with that and it becomes easier for policymaking,” he said.
Expressing his delight about the works of AWMA, the minister noted that, to help the group achieve its goals, the ministry will commit to providing its weekly Press Briefing platform to the group for awareness creation about their project as well as partnering and inviting them on the newly launched Amplified Platform (Amplified Social) let the world know about AWMA’s works.
Amplified is a new media initiative to promote businesses, mentor the youth and champion social causes.
While Amplified Social focuses on advocating human-centred issues, adding a stronger voice to the issues that confront society.
Madam Muslim expressed her appreciation to the Minister for his support.
Highlighting some of the issues impeding the growth of women in the media she mentioned the importance of creating safe working spaces and deliberate policies to attract and retain women in newsrooms. Poor remuneration, lack of clear career progression and sexual harassment inspired the study: “Status of Women on the Ghanaian Media: Providing Evidence for Gender Equality and Advocacy Project”.
The project was a collaboration between AWMA and the School of Information and Communication Studies University of Ghana and funded by the US embassy small grants program.
The delegation presented copies of the report on the national survey on the status of women in the Ghanaian media; a sexual harassment prevention guide for news organizations, a gender-sensitive code for newsrooms and a policy brief on “Tackling Gender Inequality in Ghana’s Media Industry: Evidence for Institutional Change and individual Action.
She, therefore, called for conscious efforts on gender balance when opportunities come adding that; ” It will only be through deliberate actions that can be achieved.”
Ms Lily Mohammed, a Broadcast Journalist with the Gh One TV, mentioned the safety of Journalists; poor remuneration; lack of accessible educational opportunities as some of the challenges confronting women in media.
Madam Fatima Abubakar, the Deputy Minister of Information Designate expressing her excitement about works achieved by AWMA, and congratulated the group and encouraged them to do more.
“There is the need to join hands, create awareness and help build women in the media space,” she said.