Report on gender disparity in media launched

Islamabad : Pakistani women in media face all sorts of disparities and biases including inequality in promotion opportunities, salary structures, facilities like day-care centres, maternity leaves and opportunities for top positions.

These findings were presented by Lubna Naqvi from IFJ (Asia and Pacific), while delivering the welcome note during the report launch event organised by Individualland Pakistan in collaboration with International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Asia and Pacific on Wednesday.

Ghulam Mustafa, country representative of IFJ, also a member of IFJ, Asia and Pacific while focusing on gender based disparities in the media industry in Pakistan highlighted that “women despite their competence and talent are not given equal opportunities. They are particularly not given the opportunity to hold leading positions in their media groups, which results in a sense of deprivation among them.”

National Press Club Vice President Myra Imran, while representing research team from media and Indvisualland, gave a detailed presentations on the key findings of the survey conducted with media personnel, including challenges and recommendations. Most of the disparities faced by women in media stem out of the patriarchal mindset that limits women in their roles. However, it was highly recommended that women in media need to raise their voice not only for women in general but particularly for women in media to get access to equal opportunities. The needs assessment exercise/research conducted by the selected women researchers is an effort in the right direction.

Women researchers including Fauzia Shahid, Myra Imran and Rashida Kiyani also talked about their efforts and challenges faced during the research to conduct the needs assessment and to highlight the disparities faced by women in media, success stories and recommendations for improving their overall status.

In her message, Gulmina Bilal Ahmad, executive director Individualland Pakistan concluded that ‘the ongoing efforts to highlight disparities faced by women in media must continue as women have to go a long way to fight the patriarchal mindset.’