Gender and Journalism: A Perspective of Female Journalists in the Tamale Metropolis of Ghana

International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) | Volume VI, Issue VIII, August 2019 | ISSN 2321–2705

Gender and Journalism: A Perspective of Female Journalists in the Tamale Metropolis of Ghana

Kwode Paul Achonga Kabah

Lecturer (Dip. in Communication Studies, B.A. Hons., Sociology/Psychology, Mphil., Communication and Media Studies), Tamale Technical University, Faculty of Applied Arts, Department of Media and Communication Studies

Abstract: – This study investigated gender and journalism practice from the view point of female journalists based in the Tamale metropolis of the Northern Region of Ghana. The study which is qualitative in nature, adopted in-depth interviews, observation and focus group discussions as means of data collection. Findings indicate that Journalism in the region is male-dominated because many trained female Journalists either do not get employed in the profession, lose interest or shy away from practicing. The study observed that socio-cultural practices laced with sexual harassment were common hazards experienced by female Journalists. The need for personal and institutional strategies to deal with such phenomena was recommended.

Key words: Gender, Journalism, Perspectives and Female.

I. INTRODUCTION

In this contemporary world of work, gender issues play critical role in every sphere of life and Journalism cannot be an exception. One cannot therefore rule out the role gender plays on daily basis in the delivery of the news and the influences that underline the dictates of news and what does not, contrary to the believe that journalism is a masculine profession. “Despite the advances made by women in Journalism through the 1900s, Journalism as a field has remained male-dominated. An analysis of the logic of the field suggests, however, that masculinity and power are closely related to the ideas about what constitutes good Journalism that have prevailed in different periods” (Djerf-Pierre, 2007:99).
Boateng (2017), affirms that there is a strong hypothesis of the growing feminization of the Journalism profession in Ghana and that such a phenomenon is leading to a gradual erosion of the numerical strength of men in the Journalism profession. “It is also pertinent to point out that the progressive admission of women into Journalism education is not a deliberate institutional policy by the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) but a result of interventions by national and international development agencies aimed at achieving gender parity at all levels of education cycle” (Boateng, 2017).

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