Debate on biased gender reporting has dominated public debate for generations. It is particularly pronounced in the media and communication sectors, which carry the role of amplifying messages and recreating images that define how society looks at itself.
Eliminating gender stereotypes and fostering an equal society remain enduring challenges. Deep-seated socio-cultural, economic, and political factors persistently influence these issues, and overcoming them requires strong conviction and unwavering determination.
This is what inspired Aga Khan University’s Graduate School of Media and Communications (GSMC) to take lead in promoting gender-responsive reporting and communication, acknowledging that is the foundation of an equal and stable society. After several months of implementing strategic interventions, the School can now pride itself on playing its part in tackling gender issues in a practical and sustainable manner.
GSMC entered into partnership with the Aga Khan Foundation and the Global Affairs Canada to develop media and communication programmes that tackle the root causes of gender biases and creating practical solutions that can lead to an equitable society.
Working under the auspices of Advancing Gender Equality in Media & Civil Society in East Africa (AGEMC-EA), the School rolled out a range of interventions, including research, curriculum and trainings to give context and provide solution to the challenge of gender disparity.
The interventions involved media fellowship programme, gender specialist training, research on media framing of gender issues, and establishing gender desks in selected media houses.
At the centre were public consultations that generated insights and depth of content that informed curriculum and gender training. The curriculum, entitled, Gender-responsive reporting and communication, formed the basis for robust training of trainers across East Africa. The final copy was launched in Kampala in November.
The curriculum consists of nine modules including introduction to gender concepts, social construction of gender, gender analysis, gender policy and frameworks, gender and leadership, gender violence, gender responsive reporting and communication and mainstreaming gender in the media. It also contains a module on emerging issues such as climate change, human rights and gender and technology.
In total, 216 professionals were trained from the media, communication and civil society. This cadre forms the first cohort of gender champions in media and communication, having been equipped with the knowledge and skills to train their peers on the subject.
Seven training sessions were conducted across East Africa between May and November 2024. The sessions were conducted at GSMC (Nairobi), Kampala, Dar es Salaam, Kisumu, Mwanza and Meru. Experiences from the training sessions were edifying. Participants were elated and appreciative, describing the trainings as eye-opening, ushering them into a new realm that would henceforth change the course of their professional pursuits.
Looking back over the work done in the past two years, we at GSMC, under the leadership of Dean Nancy Booker, have every reason to celebrate for playing our role, even if in a small way, in influencing change in gender relations through research, publications and training. However, this is just the beginning of the journey, the distance to be covered remains long and windy but the conviction is strong, and the destination is within reach.
