- Report notes lack of formal, effective, accessible gender-sensitive policies hindering female media workers at workplaces mired in traditional gender norms/stereotypes
Despite various forms of dialogues that point out the need to improve gender equality in workplaces and also various developments and efforts regarding the same, in Sri Lanka’s media sector, there is a lack of formal, effective, and easily accessible gender-sensitive policies in media organisations. This has allowed the perpetuation of certain traditional gender norms and gender stereotypes, which, in many cases, are detrimental to female media workers. In this context, establishing gender-sensitive workplace policies in the media sector remains a pressing need.
This was one of the central points discussed in a recent Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) study report, titled “Behind the Scenes: A Look into the Gendered Dimensions of Sri Lankan Media” released by the International Research and Exchanges Board’s (IREX) Media Empowerment for a Democratic Sri Lanka (MEND) programme with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The study aimed to address the lack of research on women in journalism in Sri Lanka, by examining the relationship between gender, media, and the experiences of female journalists. The study sample consisted of professionals from the print and digital media sectors, including journalists, production teams, administrative staff, and managers representing 12 media outlets in Sri Lanka.
Women in the Sri Lankan media
The study had paid attention to four aspects of the topic, namely, harassment and inequality, representation and opportunities, and ethics and sensitivity in the media.
According to the findings of the report, the threats to female journalists in Sri Lanka are two-fold. On the one hand, they are vulnerable to the dangers that all journalists face such as imprisonment, censorship and digital attacks, and on the other hand, they are being targeted for the simple fact that they are females taking on a public role. It added that sexual harassment and gender inequality in the workplace are additional stresses that females must contend with as journalists.
More than 75% of the respondents of the survey had claimed that their media organisation had no formal policies and guidelines regarding workplace safety and ethical reporting, which the report said is a claim which had been supported by the focus group discussions where participants from various organisations stated that they are informally briefed, often during employee orientations and staff meetings, about threats and risks associated with field reporting. Participants had also mentioned that such briefings were more common during the mass protests in early 2022. Even though more than 70% of men and women had claimed their organisations follow ethical reporting guidelines, the study’s qualitative findings revealed that this awareness is quite informal and heavily reliant on peer support and supervisor advice, rather than on a formal document on media ethics that journalists are expected to follow and adhere to in their everyday reporting practices.
“Both male and female respondents said that their organisations had policies concerning equal pay, equal hiring, equal promotions, and flexible hours for child care. Both female respondents (70%) and male respondents (59%) also claimed that their employers had policies on maternity leave; however, the same could not be said for paternity leave.”
The report also focused on gender equality policies or gender-based policies: “The majority of senior management officials in the DEI process, when discussing equal opportunities for men and women in the workplace, had stated that they adopt an ‘unbiased approach’ where employees are treated based on skills and competence regardless of their gender identity. Some senior management officials from the media outlets also used this ‘neutral’ approach as a justification for not adopting policies on gender equality, since the organisations followed basic labour rules that applied to all individuals. This management style fails to see gender as a key contributor that impacts workplace dynamics, and that the experiences of employees are influenced by existing inequalities associated with their gender identities.”
The report said that only one-quarter of the male and female samples claimed that their organisations had sexual harassment policies, which meant that 75% of the staff believed their media outlets did not have policies regarding harassment and misconduct, adding that global research suggests that developing and adopting a comprehensive policy on the prevention of sexual harassment is one of the key actions in preventing sexual harassment and promoting a safe working environment. Some organisations felt that their policy documents, especially those on harassment and ethical reporting, needed to be updated to meet the current realities of the media sector.
With regard to representation and opportunities in the media, the report said that females' stories have been considerably underrepresented in the news over the past few decades, and having females in leadership roles in the media can positively impact content by reflecting females' needs, and perspectives, and providing role models for women and girls. It explained that both quantitative and qualitative data revealed that employees of media outlets had ample opportunities to participate in various soft skill and capacity building training and workshops organised either internally or externally; but that despite these opportunities, only 40% of the respondents stated that they have taken part in gender awareness training.
“Although 74% of the respondents shared that their media outlet has separate and adequate bathroom facilities for males and females, 72% of them also said that their organisations do not provide adequate facilities for breastfeeding or pumping. Our qualitative findings also noted that some media outlets did not have clear procedures on maternity leave. This was more common among smaller media outlets where the management claimed that the need to develop them has not come up so far,” the report said, adding that gender norms and stereotypes also impact fair gender representation in the media, and that females are often portrayed as victims, identified mainly by the family status, and underrepresented in news headlines and as spokespersons or experts.
Meanwhile, regarding ethics and sensitivity in the media, the report noted that gender sensitivity and media ethics are crucial when reporting on various forms of gender-based violence (GBV), especially by eliminating the trivialisation, commodification and sexualisation of females in the media. This, it added, includes ensuring that reporting is part of the solution to violence against females and that it does not cause new or additional harm to survivors or reinforce attitudes and behaviours that can support violence.
“In all, 66% of the respondents stated that they have not participated in any workshop or training on gender-sensitive reporting, despite most of these organisations regularly reporting on incidents of GBV. Even though over 60% of males and females previously claimed that their organisations have a policy on gender-sensitive reporting, our qualitative data revealed that the employees were, once again, referring to informal practices rather than written policy documents. Gender-sensitive reporting in Sri Lanka is necessary to combat gender biases and promote a more equitable representation of females and males. As such, efforts should be made to address these imbalances and promote non-stereotypical portrayals of females across all sectors. For instance, the media often presents negative and minimising images of female Parliamentarians, contributing to their exclusion from the political sphere.”
Qualitative findings had revealed that the competition among media outlets and the need to get more ‘views’, especially among digital publications, had often influenced journalists to compromise ethical and sensitive reporting practices.
Remedying the issues
To remedy the abovementioned situation in the media sector, the report presented several recommendations with a focus on improving gender equality.
Addressing and eliminating sexual harassment and gender inequality in the workplace was one of the key recommendations, regarding which it was recommended that media organisations provide basic cyber security and digital safety training for journalists and other media professionals to prevent and navigate online harassment and cyberbullying. With regard to policies, it was recommended to capture the lived realities of employees in the process of developing, reviewing, finalising, and disseminating these policies. Media organisations were recommended to ensure that these policies are accessible and digestible in diverse formats, including written, visual, and digital, and must guarantee that all policies are available in all local languages. Among the other recommended steps were, including clauses and sections on sexual harassment and misconduct in various management procedures and policies, including employee and contractor interviews, orientations, staff training and annual appraisals, and training senior management staff, especially those in supervising capacities, on addressing and responding to sexual harassment in the workplace, including case documentation and survivor support.
Building and nourishing inclusive environments and diverse leadership is another key area, regarding which the report recommended that media organisations conduct consistent and accessible training and mentoring opportunities to enhance the leadership skills of female journalists to increase the inclusion of females in top management, and form and nurture networks for female journalists to connect with each other and exchange experiences in a male-dominated industry for peer support, collaboration, and mentorship.
It added: “Female journalists must be provided training opportunities and access to resources to practice and learn field reporting, investigative reporting, photojournalism, political reporting, mobile journalism, producing, cinematography, post-production, and other aspects of journalism that females are traditionally not allowed or encouraged to pursue in the media sector. Media organisations must address and challenge social and structural barriers such as the lack of family support and inflexible work hours through better in-house policies, support, and resources. Media organisations must also shift the dominant focus from empowering women journalists to competence development, with particular reference to competence in management. Overall, the management must focus on transforming the culture of the media organisations rather than simply focusing on conducting capacity building for females.”
The recommendations further focused on the importance of promoting and practising gender-sensitive reporting and said that media organisations must encourage a diverse and inclusive selection of sources and stories in order to achieve a balanced presence of females and males, reflecting the composition of the society and human experiences, and must strive for realistic portrayals of females and males through the elimination of stereotypes and the promotion of multi-dimensional representations. Among the other recommendations were, media organisations and journalists practising gender-sensitive language and constantly evaluating and updating their terminology, media organisations actively covering gender-related issues and positively and constructively contributing to the public discourse on gender equality, and media organisations providing consistent and comprehensive training for journalists and content creators on practising gender sensitive reporting when covering various investigative issues.