Experiences of female journalists in Zimbabwean male-dominated newsrooms
Baseline surveys on the gender distribution in Zimbabwe’s media industry indicate a male dominance in newsrooms in general, as well as in media leadership positions. This gender disparity reflects the persistence of patriarchy and heteronormative beliefs in the Zimbabwean society, despite the count...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University of Johannesburg
2022-06-01
|
| Series: | Communicare |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/jcsa/article/view/1311 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832593735786954752 |
|---|---|
| author | Lyton Ncube |
| author_facet | Lyton Ncube |
| author_sort | Lyton Ncube |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Baseline surveys on the gender distribution in Zimbabwe’s media industry indicate a male dominance in newsrooms in general, as well as in media leadership positions. This gender disparity reflects the persistence of patriarchy and heteronormative beliefs in the Zimbabwean society, despite the country’s constitution upholding gender mainstreaming and principles of equality. However, there
is a dearth of systematic academic studies exploring the experiences, aspirations and attitudes of female journalists in these macho newsrooms. The article is theoretically guided by Raewyn Connell’s hegemonic masculinity theory. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with purposively selected female Zimbabwean journalists to discuss their experiences and struggles in such environments. Findings indicate that gender remains an unresolved question in Zimbabwe. Due to alleged unprofessional conduct by some male journalists, Zimbabwean newsrooms resemble phallocentric and misogynistic “carnivals”. Women experience and battle against various forms of sexual harassment despite the presence of mechanisms to protect victims. Despite this violence, female journalists persevere and also find ways of speaking back to power.
|
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-94b5b377fdde475da083ecea4f7a83b0 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0259-0069 2957-7950 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | University of Johannesburg |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communicare |
| spelling | doaj-art-94b5b377fdde475da083ecea4f7a83b02025-01-20T08:57:39ZengUniversity of JohannesburgCommunicare0259-00692957-79502022-06-0140210.36615/jcssa.v40i2.1311Experiences of female journalists in Zimbabwean male-dominated newsroomsLyton Ncube0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8754-3080Midlands State University Baseline surveys on the gender distribution in Zimbabwe’s media industry indicate a male dominance in newsrooms in general, as well as in media leadership positions. This gender disparity reflects the persistence of patriarchy and heteronormative beliefs in the Zimbabwean society, despite the country’s constitution upholding gender mainstreaming and principles of equality. However, there is a dearth of systematic academic studies exploring the experiences, aspirations and attitudes of female journalists in these macho newsrooms. The article is theoretically guided by Raewyn Connell’s hegemonic masculinity theory. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with purposively selected female Zimbabwean journalists to discuss their experiences and struggles in such environments. Findings indicate that gender remains an unresolved question in Zimbabwe. Due to alleged unprofessional conduct by some male journalists, Zimbabwean newsrooms resemble phallocentric and misogynistic “carnivals”. Women experience and battle against various forms of sexual harassment despite the presence of mechanisms to protect victims. Despite this violence, female journalists persevere and also find ways of speaking back to power. https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/jcsa/article/view/1311hegemonic masculinitymedia industrypatriarchysexismZimbabwe |
| spellingShingle | Lyton Ncube Experiences of female journalists in Zimbabwean male-dominated newsrooms Communicare hegemonic masculinity media industry patriarchy sexism Zimbabwe |
| title | Experiences of female journalists in Zimbabwean male-dominated newsrooms |
| title_full | Experiences of female journalists in Zimbabwean male-dominated newsrooms |
| title_fullStr | Experiences of female journalists in Zimbabwean male-dominated newsrooms |
| title_full_unstemmed | Experiences of female journalists in Zimbabwean male-dominated newsrooms |
| title_short | Experiences of female journalists in Zimbabwean male-dominated newsrooms |
| title_sort | experiences of female journalists in zimbabwean male dominated newsrooms |
| topic | hegemonic masculinity media industry patriarchy sexism Zimbabwe |
| url | https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/jcsa/article/view/1311 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lytonncube experiencesoffemalejournalistsinzimbabweanmaledominatednewsrooms |