SABA commits to gender equality

SABA commits to gender equality

Southern African Broadcasting Association (SABA) held a parallel meeting on gender and the media co-sponsored by UNESCO and facilitated by Gender Links. The meeting reviewed research findings showing that women are still missing from top management and leadership in the media. The most recent monitoring shows that women constitute a mere 22% of news sources in the Southern African media. Public broadcasters have a critical role to play in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in and through the media, in accordance with the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development. Case studies presented by Swazi TV and the Mauritius Broadcasting Corportation – both Centres of Excellence for Gender in the Media – showed how women sources now exceed 33%, underscoring the fact that with political will and deliberate effort change is possible.

As we count down to 2015, the deadline for the Millennium Development Goals, and the 28 targets of the SADC Gender Protocol, SABA commits to:

• Gender balance on the SABA Board, starting in 2014 with the election of four women and four men to the Board, in accordance with the gender parity target of the SADC Gender Protocol. This historic breakthrough follows a long history of a one hundred percent male Board. SABA in 2014 also appointed, for the first time in the organisation’s 22 year history, the first woman Secretary General, Ellen Nanuses.

• Reviving and strengthening the gender committee to be represented at all SABA Annual General meetings. ·Play an active role in the UNESCO-led Global Alliance on media and Gender (GAMAG), where SABA is the nominee for vice chair of the international steering committee.

• Play an active role in the UNESCO-led Global Alliance on
  media and Gender (GAMAG), where SABA is the nominee for vice chair of the international steering committee.

• Support the Centres of Excellence for Gender in the Media coordinated by Gender Links. Currently seven of the fifteen public broadcasters in SADC have elected to join this process that involves adopting and implementing a gender policy, and capacity building for media practioners, as well as monitoring improvement and sharing good practices. SABA encourages all its members to become COEs.

• Agree on Gender Sensitive Indicators for all broadcasters in the 15 member states of SADC.

• Support gender in media training.

• Sponsor annual awards on Gender and the Media, recognising gender aware reporting, programming, and work place practise.

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