At the Home of Journalists in Zagreb, seven female journalists who wanted to learn more about gender-equal reporting in the media participated in a training session led by our member and journalist Zoran Pehar.
The training took place as part of the project of the International Federation of Journalists Rewriting the story: Tackling media gender stereotypes in political and public life.
The fact that none of the male colleagues was interested in the national training may also illustrate the extent to which the problem of gender unequal reporting is present. However, progress and the fight for equality waits for no one, so a lively discussion took place over the course of two days on how to fight against inequality.
The training participants identified the main problems very well and described them vividly. They all agree that there is no gender equality in the media.
They pointed out examples of men being addressed as doctor, lawyer… and women as ma’am in television shows.
“I have never come across an article and a photo of a politician in tight pants with the subtitle, look at how his tool is visible, while at the same time the media comment on the appearance, clothing and body parts of female politicians, even though it has absolutely nothing to do with what they do,” warned one of the participants.
The training was also an opportunity for introspection, so one of the colleagues noticed that she herself used gender-unequal language and phrases in reporting.
A much bigger problem is the treatment of women journalists and women in general in the media by male journalists.
Male journalists are passionate about their work, and when a female journalist is the same, then they say she is aggressive. No one asks male journalists if they have to go home early because they have children, they even send female journalists home because of that. Attractive topics are regularly allocated to male journalists, while what remains is given to female journalists. In one Croatian newsroom, two female sports journalists quit because they could not advance even though they did their job excellently.
This is just a part of the examples of the challenges female journalists face in a man’s world.
However, there is no use in despairing, so the training was also an opportunity to start a discussion on how to advance the fight for equality.
One of the participants recalled how they looked at her with shock when she asked to be awarded a diploma in the female gender at the university.
Cynics would say – small rebellions and battles, but it starts from that. All the participants concluded that after the training, in their future work, they will pay more attention to the equal representation of women in the media, their portrayal in accordance with professional standards, without objectification, trivialization and objectification. In addition, they will also warn against gender discrimination in their work environments and actively fight against it.
For those of you who did not have the opportunity or time to participate in the first national training on gender equality, the new edition will be held in February, so be sure to continue following the activities of the members of the Trade Union of Croatian Journalists on our websites and profiles on social media.