Woman who has invaded once male-dominated job, Daily Times

This story is an example of how the media continues to report on issues from the approach of a woman’s perspective as oppose to a gender perspective.

It is important to note that a story with a woman as the subject is not automatically a gender story. A gender perspective calls for an approach whereby the journalist looks at how women and men are affected by the issue reported on, as well as the power relations between women and men.

In the case study, the approach taken is to profile a woman who has entered the profession of mining. The story is told through her voice and from her perspective. It does not include the voices and perspectives of men, as well as those of other women in mining. Also missing is sex-disaggregated data on women and men in the mining sector in Malawi, and it does not fully develop the problems that women in mining face which their male colleagues do not. The story therefore does not approach the issue from a gender angle.

The article also tends to situate Mphonde in multiple roles – former secretary, wife, mother of six, music promoter – portraying her as a ‘superwoman’. The use of the descriptive adjective such as ‘charming’ and the descriptive phrase, a ‘pillar for her family’, also presents her as ‘non-threatening’, sending the message that ‘she has entered the male arena, but still knows her place as a woman and how to behave’.

The headline sends a message of a woman entering a male domain, while the caption talks about her working on ‘women-specific problems’. The approach to the story and its packaging illustrate how the media often incorrectly defines gender issues as women’s issues.

Training exercises

Exercise one: Read the case study and discuss the following:

1. Does the story reinforce or challenge traditional gender roles?
    

2. What stereotypes are perpetuated in the article?
    

3. What message does the article send about women?
    

4. Does the article set a standard of behaviour women should follow?
    

1. Is the article a gender story? Why or why not?
    

2. What information is needed to develop the gender angle?
    

3. What message does the article send about gender?
    

1. What is the effect of adding the detail about Mphonde’s family?
    

2. What is the effect of giving details about her age, physical appearance and describing her as ‘charming’?
    

3. What stereotypes about gender-appropriate behaviour does this detail draw on? Would the same details appear in an article about a male?
    

4. Does this detail give insight into the reporter’s values?