Pan-African thematic debates: Panel 2 - Women in Africa's changing media landscape
Channel: Pan-African Channel - Professional Media Production
Date: 2016-04-07

Women in Africa's changing media landscape

Concept: A year before the men gathered to form the Organisation of African Unity, the continent's women had already met and established the Pan-African Women's Organisation. PAWO is the oldest pan-African organisation on the continent yet the stories of its founders and their contributions to African history are almost completely untold.

Today, while African women enjoy more freedoms and access than they have before, our societies are still deeply patriarchal - this is true too of our media. The exact numbers differ between countries but as Roukaya Kasenally of African Media Initiative pointed out in a recent presentation: "Sexist attitudes and stereotypes remains one of the major impediments to achieving gender equality.” Despite the challenges, there are opportunities for change. The growth in independent media and digital media are opportunities to transform both the make up of media organisations and the stories told. How can women and media organisations capitalise on these opportunities? First though, the case must be made: what difference does having more media make? What advice could women who have achieved success in their careers share and how can the barriers that exist for women be removed?