Caribbean Region Workshop on Gender and Media Advocacy

The World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) in partnership with Women’s Media Watch (WMW) will hold a 3-day training workshop on gender and media advocacy. The workshop will take place from 10 to 12 April, 2008 in Kingston, Jamaica, bringing together representatives from civil society organisations committed to issues pertaining to the gender dimensions of media.

The workshop is a follow-up to the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) 2005, the most extensive global research into gender in the media ever undertaken that mapped the representation of women and men in the news media in 76 countries.

The results of GMMP 2005 show that women are dramatically under-represented in the news. Only 21% of news subjects are female and women’s voices are rarely heard in the topics that dominate the news agenda. In stories on government and politics, women make up only 14% of news subjects and in economics and business news only 20%. When women do make the news it is primarily as ‘stars’ or victims. Unfair and imbalanced representation of women and men in the media perpetuates stereotypes about gender that form the basis of practices of exclusion and marginalization in everyday life situations.

In the Caribbean media, sexism, gender biases and insensitive coverage of all forms of violence are pervasive despite lobbying efforts and an increasing awareness of the role that the media plays as a socializing agent, influencing attitudes and behaviour. Tabloid newspapers are popular with young persons especially as they carry information about the music and dance culture of the region but they are also sensationalist and replete with gender stereotypes,

With the advent of new forms of ICT throughout the region, access to cell phones, internet, cable TV etc has grown, but this has also brought increased sexism and violence. It is crucially important that the local media industry does not seek to replicate the negatives in foreign media. Thus advocacy must be based on a thorough understanding of how the media operates, on research data, and a solid understanding of gender issues in the media.

The workshop therefore is designed to equip participants with the skills and knowledge for effective gender and media advocacy work and to start dialogue with media on gender-balanced media policies. It is an opportunity for groups working on gender and media issues in the Caribbean region to network and share their experiences with a view to working together in the future to develop advocacy campaigns.

Representatives from women’s non-governmental organisations and other civil society organisations in ten Caribbean countries have confirmed their participation.

For more information, please email Danielle Toppin at wmwjam@hotmail.com
or Sarah Macharia at sm@waccglobal.org.