Journalists converged in Garowe town, the seat of Puntland state on 16 September 2020 for a round table meeting hosted by the Somali Women Journalists Organization (SWJO) in cooperation with IMS-FOJO. 47 media houses across Somalia signed the gender declaration respect.
23 people comprising of 11 media directors, and 12 female journalists from different media houses in the town attendedthe round table discussion which was aimed to evaluate the progress made in realizing the elements of gender declaration signed by the media houses in 2018.
Leila Osman Mohamud, a representative of SWJO who facilitated the meeting welcomed and briefed the participants about the purpose of the roundtable discussion. Mohamud stated that the event wasaimed to follow up and know what the media houses have implemented, what they have not and the challenges they faced since signing gender declaration two years ago.
She also explained the principles of gender declaration through a brief presentation to the participants.
Puntland minister of labour, Hodan Elmi officially opened the meeting. Miss Elmi challenged the media houses to confront the gender gap in their workplaces and implement fully the declaration they signed.
Mohamed Dahir Eysane, the chairman of Puntland Journalists association highlighted that there are tangible changes registered by the media houses since signing gender declaration. Mr. Dahir stated that the declaration has created a new dawn adding that it has raised the awareness of the directors and media owners on gender equality in workplace.
The director of radio Sahan, Awil Mohamed Sheikh underlined that gender equality is a yardstick that portray the progress in workplaces. Mr. Awil stated that the implementation of declaration by the media houses is in good momentum and it will soon bring to an end the old traditions of inequality in workplace.
Meymun Abdirazak Khalif, the director Wacyi TV said there is lots to do before the journalists in media houses are completely equal but she added it takes a small effort by the leaders to bring about cultural change that eliminates the discrimination in workplace. She urged the female journalists to unite in pursuit for equal rights.
After tea break, an open discussion and comments session was held for the participants of the meeting to deliberate on the Gender Declaration and provide feedback to what was implemented, what they fall short and the challenges faced since signing the declaration. Some of the key points highlighted during the meeting include the following:
- Adequate Leave (maternity, sick and annual leave): Leave was one of the issues debated by the participants of the roundtable discussions. 7 directors in attendance confirmed that they have developed leave policies for their workplace, which specify the entitlement of their workers especially female journalists to various leaves like annual, sick and maternity leave. Halima Abdullahi, a female journalist working with SBC stated that the women journalists were not able to get maternity leave and financial support before the declaration but she added that the female journalists can now get paid maternity leave and ample time to support their families after giving birth. Abdirashid Bashir Mohamed, the director of radio Garowe highlighted that his administration has granted paid maternity leave of three months to 2 female journalists since signing the declaration two years ago. Bashir underlined that granting leave to the employees especially women is one of the ways of creating conducive environment in workplace. 3 other directors stated that there are no married female journalists who are working at their stations, but also confirmed that they have leave policies in place which state the entitlement of the employees to various leaves.
- Training and Development: Most of the directors stated that they have created a diverse and equal opportunity workplace in their respective media houses free from discrimination of all sorts. Abdweli Mohamed Sheikh, Meymun Abdirazak Khalif and Jama’a Isse, the directors of Radio Sahan,Wacyi and Universal TVs respectively said they have equality policies that promote equal opportunity of training and development in workplace. The directors stressed that they provide equal opportunity training delivered in house or by external providers to all employees without unlawful discrimination. Jama’a Isse noted that he has already reaped the fruits of equal opportunity training stating that it has improved the productivity of the employees.
- Sexual Harassment and Violence: All the media directors in attendance stated that they regard the sexual harassment and violence against all employees especially women journalists as crime against the law. To ensure sexual harassment does not occur in workplace, Abdirashid Abdullahi Warsame, the director of Puntland radio and TV highlighted that all staff and supervisors were given in house training aimed to understand what is meant by sexual harassment. Similarly, Abdihakim Hussein Hassan, the deputy director of radio SBC, Abdirashid Bashir Mohamed, radio Garowe, Meymun Abdirazak Khalif, Wacyi TV and Fahad Bisle, the director of radio BSU stated that they have sexual harassment policies in place which ensure all staff are familiar with it. The directors also highlighted that the policies stipulate clear reporting and whistle blowing procedures which allow the employees file complaints easily. The directors also underlined that the organizational policies have zero tolerance towards sexual harassment. Regardless of an employee’s role within the organization, should they be found guilty of harassing a colleague or staff member sexually, there should be immediate consequences.
- Educational Advancement and Professional Development: The directors consider professional development and educational advancement as one of the best practices to garner the most from the career activities of employees. Abdirashid Abdullahi Warsame, the director of Puntland radio and TV describing the employees as the outward face of his media station, said he allowed two female journalists to join local universities in Garowe to pursue professional development that ensures their knowledge and skills relevant and upto date. Warsame encouraged the employees especially the female journalists to seek out conferences that are fit for their careers. While echoing the sentiments of Warsame, Meymun Khalif said four employees (2 male & 2 female) in her station work on shifts in order to sharpen and improve their professional skills. Meymun urged the media association of Puntland (MAP) to reinstate a journalism course that Puntland state university in Garowe use to offer to the journalists so as to enable them hone their skills and expertise in the sector. Two female journalists who attended the round table discussions appreciated the flexible time tables created by their respective media stations which allowed them to study while working. They expressed hope that they will be able to get new ideas and pass them along to clients through enhanced services and increased performance. Finally, the director of Sahan radio, Abdiweli Mohamed Sheikh highlighted that the training and educational advancement has improved the skills of the female journalists which allowed them to break the ceiling and hold top positions in his media station. Three important positions of his media station, chief editor, head of newsroom and technicians are all lead by female journalists.
- Gender Desk: To ensure female journalists feel happy to report the behaviours that make them feel uncomfortable, three directors established gender departments dealing with gender issues and nominated women to lead those departments, where female journalists can easily report their complaints of sexual harassment and violence against them without fear.Abdirashid Bashir Mohamud, the director of radio Garowe, Shareo Yasin Shareo, and Khalif Gelle, the director of Horn Cable and RTN TVs respectively said the establishment of gender desks in their work stations has built the confidence of female journalists to report incidents of sexual harassment unlike in the past when they use to remain tight lipped or leave the workplace when they encounter unwanted behaviours. The other directors and female journalists appreciated the impacts of gender desk. The directors promised to establish the gender departments the soonest time possible in order to create a conducive working environment free from harassment.
- Promotion: Since signing the declaration in 2018, three media directors have confirmed that they have promoted female journalists following their commitment and hard work. The director of Horn Cable TV confirmed that the administration has appointed a female journalist, Umulkheyr Abdi as the head of marketing of the TV. The director also approved that Umulkheyr is part of the decision-makers of the organization. Secondly, the director of Sahan radio said the administration has promoted 3 women journalists to the top positions of the organization. Chief editor, head of newsroom and technicians are all lead by female journalists. Meymun Abdirazak Khalif, the director of Wacyi TV also supported that she has promoted a female journalist to the position of chief editor. Halima Abdullahi, a journalist working with SBC says there is no equality when it comes to promotions adding that promotions without raises are becoming more common which gives the organizations an upper hand of filling open positions, saving money and adding workload to the already struggling appointees. She added that promotion without extra pay is not perfect but regard it as temporary situation that helps the female journalists build their resume and hone their skills and above all to be free from male domination.
Gaps
- Separate Toilets, Prayer Room, Ablution, Dressing Room: Provision of separate toilets, prayer room, dressing room is one of the areas that was least addressed by the media houses in Garowe. Only one director, Shareo Yasin Shareo confirmed to have created separate toilets for the women journalists working the station despite operating in a rented house. The remaining directors said they face circumstances that do not allow them to create special places at the moment for women in their workstations.
- Equal Pay at Work: There is a pay gap in the different media houses as evident from the sentiments of the directors who attended the round table discussions. The media houses have no pay system which sets out procedures that ensures a pay system that is efficient and equitable. Most of the directors confirmed that they have no standard salary scale for paying the employees. All of the female journalists who were promoted by the different media houses have not received salary increase even when they take new roles and workloads.
- Gender Sensitivity Training: Gender sensitivity training is one of the areas of the declaration where the directors have done little to implement. Only one director, Abdiweli Mohamed Sheikh, the director of Sahan radio in Garowe has conducted the gender sensitization training in the workplace. The director said promoting gender sensitization training became one of their concerns towards combating and addressing the factors that contribute to gender discrimination and bias at workplace. Mohamed stated that the employees gained useful insights that help them address violation and interact with female colleagues, clients and partners.
Analysis
There are Significant breakthrough that have been made in resolving some of the challenges in media houses following the signing of the Gender Declaration, but this is not enough and needs to be strengthened so as to create a safe and conducive working environment.
There are a number of issues which the media houses have not done well to improve the conditions of the female journalists- for instance equal pay for men and women remains a thorny issue at the workplace, no media house has taken a single step to implement it and this is directly impacting the professional and personal lives of the female employees.
Traditionally, Somali media which is male dominated it not well prepared to recruit female journalists who can readily take up roles since recently when the advocacy campaigns aimed to improve equality embarked. In that it takes time for media directors and owners to change the status quo, but thanks to the gender declaration signed by the media houses which played a major role in media industry, still there is long way to go and a lot of efforts to be done.
Most of the media houses operate in buildings that were initially designed to house one family therefore it is not prepared to create a suitable environment that can accommodate the needs of all sexes. The directors and owners should think twice when renting houses or even constructing to avoid the recurring challenges of this kind.
Going forward, to create a conducive environment in media houses where male and female journalists can work freely, get equal rights, we have to sustain firmly the unsteady successes gained so far and make efforts to cover or rather reduce gaps in the sector which impede successful creation of equitable workplace.
All the comments from the media owners and directors have shown their intention to address the challenges facing the female journalists in Somali media industry but that does not mean to guarantee that everything will be fixed in short time.
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