International Women’s Day 2000

Defined as "an agenda for women’s empowerment", the Platform for Action identifies 12 areas of particular urgency that stand out as priorities for action. They are the burden of poverty on women; unequal access to education and training; unequal access to health care and related services; violence against women; the effects of armed conflict on women; inequality in economic structures and policies; inequality in the sharing of power and decision-making; insufficient mechanisms to promote the advancement of women; human rights of women; the rights of the girl child; gender inequalities in natural resources management; and women and the media...

On February 1 this year, the Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA) joined women and men in 70 countries to monitor the representation and portrayal of women in the news on TV, radio and in newspapers, as part of the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) 2000. The second study of its kind, GMMP 2000 was organised by the World Association for Christian Communication in collaboration with Erin research, MediaWatch Canada and media specialist, Margaret Gallagher.

Caribbean countries participating in the study were Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.

The study aims to provide valuable insight into the situation of women in the media and to assess changes that have occurred in half a decade. The long-term objectives are to create more gender-sensitive media and for media organisations to develop women-friendly policies which would give women greater opportunity to influence media content.

Five years ago, the GMMP revealed that whilst women comprised 43% of journalists they accounted for only 17% of interviewees and 29% of female interviewees were victims of accidents, crime and other events.

Preliminary results from Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago suggest that print and electronic media still do not provide a balanced picture of women’s diverse lives and contributions to society in a changing world. Few of the news stories monitored had women as their central focus. Few women were quoted in newspaper stories and in other cases, women’s perspectives were simply not sought on issues, which affected them directly, or differently from men.

The preliminary results of the study are expected to inform the review of progress regarding women and the media at Beijing Plus Five later this year.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) recently announced an initiative to defend equal professional opportunities for women in the media. It is calling on the media worldwide to ensure that the world’s news output on 8 March 2000 is produced under the editorial responsibility of women.

If journalists, the media and the organisations that represent them come together to make this initiative a success, then for the first time in history a day’s news output in both print and broadcasting, throughout the world, will fall under the editorial responsibility of women.

A draft analysis of responses received from 123 governments to the UN’s questionnaire on implementation of the Platform for Action identifies six major areas of constraint to implementation of the Platform for Action. They are (1) discriminatory attitudes; (2) economic change/instability; (3) conflict and displacement (due to natural as well as manmade disasters); (4) lack of data and monitoring mechanisms; (5) resource allocation; and (6) backlash.

Here in the Caribbean, the backlash against women’s gains is frighteningly manifested in increasing male violence against women, at a time when governmental and non-governmental action on this issue is at a higher level than it has ever been.