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Women: International
In a rural community outside the capital, children learn under precarious conditions, in
plastic classrooms with dirt floors. Photo courtesy of Archivo Diario La República.
the story of her awful relationship with
her female boss explained that she
could not communicate effectively with
her boss. Sometimes the reason was as
absurd as her being more elegantly
dressed than her superior was. Some
comments that surfaced during the
workshop dealt with the fact that some
women, when commenting on other
women’s work, are incapable of separating
personal attributes from professional
qualifications. Some pointed out
that it’s common for a man, when speaking
about another man, to comment,
“he’s a terrible person, but an excellent
worker.” It’s almost impossible for
a woman to state the same.
What happens next?
Participants in the leadership workshops
stressed that it is essential to
work in several areas to try to bring
about constructive changes.
• The professional: There’s a need
for continuous training that would
enable them to compete for professional
opportunities on an equal
footing. They considered business
training fundamental in breaking the
stereotype that women lack business
sense and leadership.
• The personal: Women’s self-esteem
must be bolstered with tangible action,
such as having them contribute
to determining what is considered
news. Some characteristics that
are considered feminine are essential
for improving the quality of the
news media and for satisfying the
public’s new demands. It’s also necessary
to mention women’s ability
to organize, participate and lead
professional entities, which allows
for more democratically led organizations,
thereby changing the traditional
personality-based and tyrannical
leadership methods that have
characterized the media throughout
history.
• The collective: It’s important to
reinforce the networks and groups
established by women journalists,
allowing them to connect with colleagues
who share common interests.
There was, however, an awareness
that any of these efforts to promote
women’s leadership will not yield the
desired effects if some problems, which
the workshop participants considered
substantial, are not addressed first. Two
of these appear to stand out in the
minds of these women journalists: the
conflictive relationship between
women colleagues and the lack of conflict
resolution training.
To improve the woman-to-woman
relationship at the workplace, gender
solidarity needs to be promoted without
defaulting to permissiveness based
on gender. Solidarity should be regarded
as a tool for collective success,
as a way to generate equal or betterabled
female leadership that will lead
the way for other women. After all, an
intrinsic characteristic of leadership is
the training of new and better leaders.
Passing experience down and guiding
the next generation towards personal
and professional success demonstrates
the leader’s worth.
The IWMF workshop participants
also discussed conflict resolution training
and the fear of addressing conflicts.
It is an area that is lacking and that must
be addressed in this difficult process of
strengthening women journalists’ leadership
in Latin America. Female stereotypes
depict women as being afraid of
confrontation and of asserting their
personal points of view. The reality is
that as women we have grown up avoiding
conflict; that behavior has defined
our filial and social environments, especially
in Latin America. But it is impossible
for women in the media to
survive, and even harder for them to
become leaders, if they lack the skills
necessary to deal with conflict.
Women managers and editors gave
concrete examples of how they gained
such skills through formal training but
also through assuming leadership positions
in mixed gender situations
where colleagues challenged their orders
and decisions. Journalistic ability
does not lead to leadership ability. It is
necessary to be a good listener and to
give orders when necessary. For that,
women will no doubt need training.
Lastly, I’d like to share my enormous
pride in the incomparable experience
of those days of collective reflection
and learning with Latin American
colleagues. Our long hours of work,
our debates, our laughter, and our
shared dreams were characterized by
solidarity, understanding and a sisterly
bond with which we faced the obstacles
we have in common.
104 Nieman Reports / Winter 2001