Lessons Learned from the Exchange Program – Comments from
Participants
Ms. KUMEI Ayako (NHK Japan Broadcasting Corporation)“What Should Female Journalists Do to Build a Better Society?
Breaking away from Machoism”
Memorable words from the three-day conference▶ Women’s participation brings about higher GDP and economic benefits. Women’s voiceschange society’s perception▶ Roles of female journalists, women’s way of working and women’s speaking out are
extremely important▶ At present, newsworthiness is evaluated from men’s perspective. It is very important toincorporate various perspectives into journalism.
▶ Digitization has changed the nature of journalism. Stories told from personal viewpoint’
are connected to social issues.
▶ Both strategy and conventional wisdom are necessary to break into the mainstream▶ Political measures are meaningless if they are not implemented (like in Japan)▶ Messages should be clear and understandable for men, too▶ Ideal working environment is comfortable for both men and women▶ Change might come from the outside▶ Today’s female journalists are working to reform existing work culture of journalists. It’sa time of transformation.
▶ Cast light on unnoticed part of the society. This is what journalists must do.
▶ Media organizations are desperate on the back of digitization. Journalists should not lose
the sight of its initial goal in a time like this.
A developed country in disaster reduction, yet underdeveloped in gender & disaster
reduction“Japan is lagging 20 years behind other countries in studies on gender and disaster reduction.”
It was shocking to hear this.
I thought that coverage of disaster damages and disaster reduction from women’s
perspective was gradually increasing. However, presentation by Ms. Sachiko Asano from theTraining Center for Gender and Disaster Risk Reduction made me realize how little I knew.
Because I have never experienced a disaster myself nor have I covered stories of the disasteraffected areas, I regretted my lack of awareness and understanding on women and disaster
reduction/damages.
There are so many stories we must report. Japan has a long way to go to advance in thefield of “disaster reduction and gender”. Most of the attention and money were channeled to31

public policies for disaster reduction, and thus women’s issues have been left behind. What can
we do to avoid division and help women to connect with each other and cooperate in a in asociety where women are becoming more diverse and having less connection with thecommunity? What can we do to help women take on the leadership in relation to disaster
reduction? First and foremost, we must raise awareness on disaster reduction and on how toprotect our lives. But at the same time, I strongly feel that we must think about how toincorporate women’s perspective and discuss its importance concurrently. I must say that thehurdle we must overcome is very high. How can we make men think that “gender and disaster
reduction” is everyone’s issue, including men, and not only women’s? We, of course, must
report on the issue and send the messages persistently by taking every possible opportunity
while also taking creative approaches to get the messages across to everyone, regardless of
their gender.
My impression
I had the great opportunity to converse and discuss with fellow female journalists from othercountries throughout the program. It was very fruitful to hear about various women’s issues
and situations in other countries directly from them, which I only knew through the media. It
made me reassure that female journalists at news centers share the same challenges andproblems regardless of their country, and the issue is not domestic but global. There are somany challenges for female journalists to tackle; increasing the number of women withdecision-making authority, reporting on women issues which can only done by female
journalists, and fostering female journalists, etc.
It is also becoming increasingly important to continuously send messages not only for women
but also for men, who build the society together. In a time when things are changing so rapidly,
we must take this opportunity and discover the best way of sending messages that best suits
the digital era. The time has come for women to lead the way, without sticking to conventional
ways of thinking and reporting. I know it’s very challenging and the goal will not be achieved
overnight. It may take years, or maybe generations. But again, it’s journalists’ responsibilities
to make it happen in a shorter time, so we can achieve a better society.
To make everyone happy and to make the world a better place, shed light on different
problems from different angles as a female journalist.

32

Ms. Azreen Hani Binti Abu Bakar (The Malaysian Reserve)"Gender Equality: Not A Far-Fetched Reality"
The issue of gender equality, especially with regards to female empowerment has taken its
momentum in Asian countries, including Malaysia, for the past few years. The #MeToomovement that broke out two years ago, proved to be a catalyst for more women looking topromote gender equality in society, especially in the workplace.
If before, women are expected to toughen up, or quit their job because of work pressure, it
is heartening to see that the gender equality movement, which used to be championed only
by feminist groups, have started to take place in the heart and minds of ordinary womenthemselves, and even the male counterparts.
The invitation by the Japanese government, specifically Gender Equality Bureau, helps me
have a better understanding and approach on how to initiate change in a conservative, maledominated society. Japan and Malaysia, and to an extent almost all Asian countries, have strong
traditional values that put men in "higher position" than women.
I believe, from all the discussions held throughout the programme, we should aim to educate
and bring awareness on gender equality in a delicate manner. Our Asian values differ greatly
than the West thus using a hard approach, would only alienate the male counterparts to be
involved in creating an inclusive society. In fact, it may work in reverse. They may alienate
women instead of becoming an ally for the objective of gender equality.
There are various factors to consider before we want to initiate an action plan that issystematic, comprehensive and consistent to create an inclusive society.

Like a panellist,

KUMEI Ayako said in her talk, gender issue should not be about women's issue only. It should
be addressed as a society issue, where we want to achieve a society where both men andwomen would be able to thrive.
In Malaysia, although women are given equal opportunity to work, it is generally hard forthem to continue working due to societal pressure; ie marriage and giving birth. I have learned
that this seems to be a common shared problem together with other participating countries inthe Hasshin! programme.
Taking media industry in specifics, I also realised that apart from Republic of Korea, there isno dedicated female group that represents women who work in this sector. This puts female
journalists at a disadvantage and open to workplace discrimination. Not having a union or
network would put female workers at the mercy of the corporation, and in male dominatedsector, it is quite difficult to get men to understand women's plight.
Of course, we have discussed and exchanged our views about women's position in the media
during the programme. So what should we, as media practitioners do? I believe first and33foremost, we should go back to our main role that is not only to report, but to inform andeducate.
How do we do that? Creating awareness on women's issues should be a start. The #MEtoo
has given more women a platform to highlight various issues such as sexual harassment, equal
pay and inclusive policies, so this is the time for us write or report such matter to the public. I
refer to the works of JIBU Renge and TAKEDA Kota whom I have only discovered during theconference, which I believe have helped the Japanese people to not only aware of what ishappening, but to also discuss on how is the best way to move forward.
Also, having more female workers in the media industry would help, but only to an extent.
Therefore, I think the government or authority should encourage promotion of women in
leadership roles. Having female leaders would not only help reduce the stigma or bias one
would have on another, it would allow media organisations to look at news from female's pointof views thus leading to better reporting.
Additionally, media organisation should not be too protective of women journalists to do theirjob. They should be allowed to do "hard assignment" like disaster or war reporting, similar totheir male counterpart. Again, when we want to talk about creating an inclusive society, it
would mean that women should be given a level playing field -equal opportunity, equal pay,equal platform to shine. Therefore, introducing a policy that would encourage work-life balancein an organisation may help not only female but male workers too.
Will the government's interference in media industry help? Yes in the sense that womenshould be afforded an equal treatment legally. The authority should be cognisant of female
workers' right and issues, particularly in the face of discrimination and harassment. The reportby female workers should be attended to as everyone is equal in the face of justice. If all of us
play our roles right, having an inclusive society would not be impossible.

34

Hasshin! Declaration
Each woman journalist made a “Hasshin Declaration” based on what they learned during theexchange program. Here are women journalists’ declarations on how to take action bybecoming an agent themselves to send out messages of women’s empowerment in the media.

Share experiences in creating
an ideal working environment
for women in the media

Pay

more

attentiontogender issues
Come up with new ideas
tosupportworkingmothers in the media

Take action to diversify thenewsroom

in

terms

of

gender, age and nationality

Write articles that present arole model and stimulate

女性の活躍事例を褒めたたえ、

women

記事を通して広める

Pave the way for those in
the same path to move
forwardandturnspotlight

on

the

the
areas

which need support
Turn

the

spotlighton

Write articles on the story ofvarious social issues fromstimulating and ambitious

different perspectives as a

women

woman journalist

Write articles on the story of
men

who

stereotype

break

the

Write
equality

Take action before doubting
yourself

articlesfromongendera

perspective such as not using
the term gender equality

35

new

Contribute to the learning
process of the community
weTake action to improve thebelongto,State our opinions clearly,

throughbelieve our colleagues andwriting articles

strengthen solidarity

working condition for both
men and women journalists
Write articles for men to
Promote an equal mix ofmen and women in thechange

their

ways

of

thinking on gender

workplace
Encourage junior women journalists toplay an active role by building network,
providing opportunity to voice opinion andwriting articles on women s empowerment

Now is the time for women
to stand up and raise our
voice. Hasshin!

Women s rights are humanrightsWrite more articles which
value our own perspectives

Provideopportunitiesfor

more women to raise their
voice

the newsroom, articles andCreate a better partnershipdaily life

between men and womentopromotebetterunderstanding on genderequality

Aim for equal gender mix in

Advocate for the rights ofwomen, elderly and children
36

Results of the Post-Event Questionnaire Survey
Day 1: Symposium○ Panel discussion: “Advancement and future of women journalists”
In total, 92% of the Japanese participants and 95% of the non-Japanese ones replied thatthe symposium was either “very useful” or “useful.” Some commented that learning about thestatus of other countries or panelist’s perspective were very useful. Others commented theyrecognized the importance of involving men and men’s perspectives on promoting genderequality.

Japanese participants

International participants○ Group discussions
Eighty-four percent of the Japanese participants and ninety-five percent of the international
ones replied that the group discussions were either “very useful” or “useful.” Many replied thatthe session deepened their understanding on the situation of other countries and exchanging
opinions among women journalists as well as the general-public participants was very useful.

Japanese participants

International participants○ International get-together
To the question “Were you able to interact sufficiently with other journalists and the generalpublic participants?” 83% of the Japanese participants and 95% of the international ones
replied positively.

37

Day 2: Visits○ Groupings
Theme

Japan

International

Declining birthrate and aging population, and elderly care

3 people

７ people

Sports and women's health4 people３ people

Barrier-free society

3 people

６ people

Disaster prevention and rehabilitation

3 people４ people

13 people

20 people

Total○ Degree of satisfaction on visits

Each group made a field visit one in the morning and one in the afternoon based on a different
theme. Ninety-two percent of the Japanese participants and all the international ones repliedthat they were either “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with the morning program. Ninety-two
percent of the Japanese participants and 85% of the international ones replied that they were
either “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with the afternoon program.2○ Did you find the field visit and a discussion with other participants useful for yourfuture news coverages/reports?
Ninety-two percent of the Japanese participants and ninety percent of the international ones
replied either “very useful” or “useful.”

Japanese participants

International participants○ Main comments from the participants:▶ I was able to find out the perspectives and awareness of journalists from other countries
when covering a story. I am excited to find out what kind of stories they will be reporting
about this exchange program.
▶ Listening to the questions from international women journalists made me think about whatkind of information to put in when writing an article for overseas readers.

2“Group A: Declining birthrate and aging population, and elderly care” visited in the morning an organizationthat addresses a social concern and, in the afternoon, an organization that has expertise on a social concern.

38Day 3: Opinion Exchange○ Review of visits
Ninety-two percent of the Japanese participants and ninety percent of the international ones
replied either “very useful” or “useful” to the question “Did you find exchanging and sharing
opinions with other participants on field visits useful?”○ Did you find the short presentation of participants useful?
Eighty-five percent of the Japanese participants and ninety-five percent of the international
ones replied either “very useful” or “useful.” Some found that initiatives from other media outlet
in the same country also useful.

Japanese participants

International participants○ Degree of satisfaction on group discussions
All the Japanese participants and 95% of the international ones replied either “very satisfied”
or “satisfied.” Many participants commented that group discussions made them realize
differences with other countries.

Japanese participants

39

International participantsOverall Exchange Program○ Did you find the theme and the content of the exchange program appropriate?
Seventy-seven percent of the Japanese participants and eighty-five percent of theinternational ones replied that the “theme and content of the exchange program wereappropriate.”

Japanese participants

International participants○ Do you think the knowledge and experience gained from the exchange program will
be useful for your future news coverages/reports?
All the Japanese participants and 85% of the international ones replied that the “knowledge
and experience gained from the exchange program will be useful for the future news
coverages/reports.” Many commented that the program gave them an opportunity to review
and rethink about their work.

Japanese participants

International participants40