For women in media, the glass ceiling is as real as ever
Date: January 1, 1970
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As the only woman who sits on my newspaper?s board of editors, my moment of truth came when my male colleagues asked me to take minutes during our meetings, because ?our decisions were not being implemented.? Being the only woman in the editorial board, it was expected that I would take the minutes. You can imagine my outrage! What the connection between my biology and my ability to take minutes was, completely escaped me!
As the only woman who sits on my newspaper’s board of editors, my moment of truth came when my male colleagues asked me to take minutes during our meetings, because “our decisions were not being implemented.” Being the only woman in the editorial board, it was expected that I would take the minutes. You can imagine my outrage! What the connection between my biology and my ability to take minutes was, completely escaped me!
I am a woman of many abilities but I draw the line at taking minutes and making coffee merely because they are expected of me! These are things I believe I should do because I want to, not because I am expected to.
I identify with Clare Boothe Luce’s words: “Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, ‘She doesn’t have what it takes.’ They will say: ‘Women don’t have what it takes.’”
Talk about women holding up half the sky!
My appointment to the position of Assistant News Editor was historic. It was the first time that a woman had been given such a senior position in Swaziland’s print media. While women had made their mark in electronic media, print media for some reason remained the preserve of Swazi men.
The appointment was not without controversy. Some people thought it was a “token” appointment because I had less experience in the industry compared to most of my colleagues, the majority of whom are male. They thought the editorial board wanted to appear “liberal” by bringing a woman on board. Others said I would fail to make the grade because it was a taxing position not suited to my “delicate feminine sensibilities”.
It was a challenging position. I had my fair share of mistaken identity; often compounded by the assumption that “Assistant News Editor” meant assistant to the news editor, which resulted in many believing and treating me as if I were the personal secretary to the News Editor!
Despite this my work was rewarding and I had good relationships with my (mostly) male subordinates. This not to say that it was all smooth-sailing as I had to deal with a few trouble-mongers who had problems taking instructions from a woman. My strategy was to ignore them and get on with matters at hand.
When the News Editor was away I would assume his responsibilities. Many had difficulty believing I was really the News Editor.
It was worse on the phone.
"May I speak to the News Editor," they would say and when I responded "This is she", you could tell they did not believe me. Some would actually demand to know my name, just so they could bounce off this information with someone else. I guess our socialisation made them think this way – that it was impossible for a woman to hold a position like this.
Linked to this “appropriate role” assumption is an experience I had during a job interview in the private sector. The interview went very well and I could tell the interviewing panel was impressed. The last question (posed by a woman) was if I was married and had any children. I answered the question honestly and wondered what bearing it had on my abilities as a person. The next day I enquired from some of my male colleagues who had attended the same interview whether they had been asked about wives and children and they all said no.
I’m still a woman – I cry when upset and insist on talking about problems instead of shelving them but I am a professional in my own right. I make no apologies for being who I am. I do not try to behave like a man or even (God forbid!) think like one.
But I must admit that I believe that I am where I am today because of my hard work and determination, and also the support I’ve had from some of my male colleagues. I have worked with male editors who have believed that I was not a “misplaced skirt” but a valuable member of staff who had potential.
Bongiwe Zwane is the Features Editor at the Swazi Observer in Swaziland.
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