Kaya FM Gender Policy

KAYA FM GENDER POLICY: DRAFT OUTLINE

Vision
– A station that reflects our community.
– Gender sensitive/responsive institution in editorial content, marketing/advertising.
– Challenging stereotypes.
– Leading the way

What informs the policy
– International instruments
– Constitution
– Laws: eg Employment Equity Act
– ICASA: 40 % talk; 60 % music

Strengths
– The station is a product of the new South Africa.
– Good racial mix (ICASA report).
– Women in senior management positions.
– Head of news sits on the SANEF Council that is charting a new course on gender.
– SANEF commitments at this year’s AGM to ensure greater gender balance in news rooms and in coverage.
– SANEF to issue a report card on 8 March each year.

Challenges/opportunities
– Gender gaps, vertically and horizontally within the institution.
– Fewer women than men listeners.
– Fewer women than men call in for talk shows.
– More women than men call in for dedications.
– Men predominate as news sources.
– Men predominate as DJ’s
– Gender as a topic still under-represented in news and programming.
– ICASA- monitors gender in institutional make up but not in content.

EDITORIAL (NEWS/CURRENT AFFAIRS)

Aim: Gender parity in sources; gender sensitivity in coverage; boost gender-specific coverage; look for gender angles in mainstream stories.

Action points
– Greater awareness and consciousness.
– Directory of women’s sources.
– Gender checklist for stories.
– Editorial guidelines- race and gender; ethical issues (victims/survivors).
– Appointing a champion on gender while all take responsibility.
– News to send gender-related story ideas to other programmes.
– Build gender into planning/evaluation.

– Sessions on the Sixteen Days, elections, ten years democracy, Soweto one hundred year anniversary and other special events that can be planned for in advance.

PROGRAMMES

Aim: to develop programmes that will attract more women listeners; to be gender sensitive in the timing of programmes; to get more participation by women in inter-active sessions; to introduce more gender-related topics in programming.

Action points
– Specific research on what would attract women listeners (see marketing).
– Getting more women in as guests in programmes.
– Women “call in” week.
– Hosts of talk shows encouraging women to call in.
– Hosts declining to speak on behalf of women.
– More women DJs.
– Paying greater attention to entertainment content that appeals to women.
– Using jokes/comments made by DJs to advance gender equality. Using feminist humour in place of sexist stereotypes.
– Send out progressive gender messages during concerts.
– Send out the message that Kaya FM wants to hear from more women during outside broadcasting.
– Seek out specific opportunities to make it known that Kaya FM wants to encourage women to speak on mainstream issues, eg South African Women Entrepreneurs Forum, developing links with the gender unit of the Department of Trade and Industry.
– Women do afternoon drive?
– Greater attention to women listeners in lunch hour traffic programmes?

MARKETING

Aim: To break with industry trends by attracting more women listeners among Kaya’s target audience (young, black, upwardly mobile residents of Johannesburg).

Action points
– Building gender into auditorium research.
– Possible pilot project with Wits University on what women listeners want from Kaya FM.
– Initiatives like the Cell C “Bring a girl child to work.”
– Promoting Kaya FM as a station for women and men.
– Competitions that target women; prizes that are more appealing to women.
– Cooperative venture with “O” magazine,

INSTITUTIONAL

Aim: gender parity at all levels and in all areas of the institution (by 2004)

Action points
– A plan for achieving this. For example, targets, affirmative action measures such as advertising, head hunting, internal fast tracking, capacity building, promotion policies.
– Building gender sensitivity into new handbook on staff rules/procedures

GENDER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Policy
– A stand- alone policy that is approved by the board and then implemented by each department.

Structure
– Each department should appoint a champion. The champions would constitute a gender committee that is responsible for driving change.
– Managers in each department should take the ultimate responsibility and the MD the overall responsibility.

Monitoring and evaluation
– Regular reports on progress to the Executive Committee which meets monthly and to the board that meets quarterly.
– Build gender criteria into institutional score-card.
– Six- month review with GL.
– External benchmarks: 8 March; best practise at the Gender and Media Summit in late 2004.

Buy in and involvement
– Make sure all staff are involved at departmental level.
– Make sure all staff are involved at institutional level through having the gender policy as a standing item at staff meetings and through regular presentations/discussions on gender issues.