Getting the balance right: gender equality in journalism; 2009 - Fokus

Women in journalists’ unions (IFJ survey onthe status of women journalists, 2001)605049% of women union members% of women in the union governing bodies4037%30302019171012780Asia-Pacific Europe Americas Africato the distinct concerns of working women”, says the InternationalLabour Organisation.Yet, much remains to be done. In the Middle East, North Africaand Iran, a 2008 IFJ survey revealed that women only occupied11.7% of positions in union decision making bodies.While a lot of unions have abandonedthe old fashion “men club” mentality, toomany haven’t. Indeed, it is a major task insome regions to eliminate the traditions thatare little more than cultural prejudice. Issuessuch as the gender pay gap, the difficultiesto combine work and family life, the pooraccess to training and leadership positions,harassment and intimidation in theworkplace and a general debate on women’sJournalists and press workers shout slogans at theDhaka Press Club in Bangladesh, protesting theclosure of a leading Newspaper, the Daily Ittefaq onDecember 12, 2007. © Firoz Ahmed, Drik News.access to beats and gender portrayal in thenews are some of the concerns that shouldbe taken up by journalists’ unions.22 GENDER EQUALITY IN JOURNALISM