Mrs Mavis Kitcher (standing) making a contribution at a roundtable discussion in Accra. Seated on her left is Mrs Ifeyinnwa Omowole. Picture: GABRIEL AHIABOR

ASWIM, Nigerian women journalists dialogue on members’ welfare

Juliet Akyaa Safo & Mandarin Dzorgbenyo Jul - 22 - 2019 , 07:15 2 minutes read

The Association of Women in the Media (ASWIM) has called on successful women in the profession to mentor and support young people, particularly women, to encourage them to stay on the job.

According to the President of the association, Mrs Mavis Kitcher, the working conditions of journalists such as discrimination and harassment discouraged some young women from staying on the job or aim for higher positions.

Mrs Kitcher was addressing a meeting of ASWIM and the Nigeria Association of Women in Journalism (NAWOJ) in Accra on Saturday, July, 20.
Members of NAWOJ were in the country for a retreat and to forge collaboration with the Ghanaian media.

The meeting, therefore, provided a platform for sharing of experiences on how to encourage and acknowledge the contributions of women in journalism, and to address their challenges.

The group had earlier visited some media houses in the country, including the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) and the Atinka Media Village, to familiarise itself with their operations.

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At the meeting, Mrs Kitcher, who is also the Director, News of GCGL, called for more news report on women and children, as the issues of women in poverty and abuse, even at the workplace, still exist.

She called on women to encourage each other to achieve higher education and equip themselves in Information Technology (IT) so they could perform better and be financially stable.

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The National President of NAWOJ, Mrs Ifeyinwa Omowole, for her part, suggested that media houses should provide a crèche in their offices to encourage women to adequately balance work and take care of their children.
“Establish a crèche as prescribed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to encourage young mothers to remain in journalism.”

Members from both associations shared their experiences and called on young women to make themselves more relevant by providing exclusive stories that would change lives and impact society.

The President of the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA), Mr Roland Affail Monney, who was at the meeting, said the GJA would soon amend its constitution where some positions would be designated for only women, and encouraged women not to be intimidated by challenges confronting them in the work environment.