Assessing the Challenges Confronting Female Journalists in Plateau State, Nigeria

Abstract

Nigerian women are confronted with gender-based discriminations in all spheres of life and women journalists are not excluded. This study aims to assess some of the challenges confronting women journalists working in Plateau State and the measures taken by the Nigerian Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) in assisting its members to surmount the challenges confronting them in the course of discharging their duties and responsibilities. The study is anchored on Muted Group Theory. It adopted survey research design. Questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection from 92 registered female journalists in Plateau State. The study found that women journalists face myriads of challenges, including sexual advances, assignment to dry beats, gender insensitive policies, family responsibilities, job security, as well as cultural and religious limitations. Based on the findings of this study, it recommends that media organisations should stop the gender stereotyping against women journalists and help them to surmount some of the challenges confronting them by allowing them to cover all types of beats. It concluded that women should be assigned responsibilities which not based on their gender as women but as professionals. In order for the potentials of female journalists to be felt in the society, media organisations must give women equal opportunity as their male colleagues in the media industry.