12/12/2006
Manifesto for Gender Equality
in Indian Media
Adopted at the EU-India Final Conference on
Gender Equity in Media, New Delhi 9-10 December,
2006
Indian women have greater visibility and voice
than ever before – and they exercise influence in every sphere of public
life. Strong and engaged movements of women work on issues of vital
importance not only in their own lives, but to the country as a whole. The
issue of women’s rights is today, 60 years after independence, a central
pillar of political, social and cultural life and a key to continued
development.
Nevertheless, there is no denying the evidence of the
huge gaps between constitutional and legal guarantees and the daily
realities of women’s lives, particularly in the media sector, which plays
a vital role in defining the right to information and which underpins the
pluralism and free discourse which is at the heart of Indian democracy.
Equality of freedoms and opportunities, underscored by the
presence and influence of women in the life of Indian media, is an
essential condition for building democracy and press freedom in
India.
Across the information and communications sector, at all
levels, more must be done to expand opportunities for women and to
decrease inequalities where they persist.
In particular,
•
Women in media must be given the chance to speak for themselves and to be
involved at all levels of decision-making;
• Women leaders must be
encouraged at all levels to recognise and advance the interests of women
and men in creating a culture of equality within media;
• Media
must assume responsibility for the role they play in forming public
opinion and ensure that portrayal of women reflects the values of gender
equality and ensures space for consideration of issues that affect women
in their daily lives;
• The issue of gender equality must move from
being an exclusive concern of women to being an issue for all. Women and
men must join hands to confront social barriers and to ensure justice and
equality.
To achieve these objectives, the institutions of media,
including media companies and groups representing the workforce, must
change the ways in which they often think and behave to confront
inequality and exploitation in favour of equality and mutual respect. With
this in mind,
Media Managements
must
1. adopt and enforce the provisions of the industrial
employment (Standing Orders) Act which is applicable to journalists in
India, eliminate illegal and insecure labour conditions, and ensure that
journalists and other media employees are able to freely exercise their
right to join and be active in a trade union and to be represented by a
union or association of their choice;
2. examine recruitment and
personnel policies to eliminate any obstacles to women employees in
reaching leadership positions and to put in place policies and strategies
to encourage women to take such positions;
3. ensure that
promotional practices are fully transparent, that they are based upon
seniority and fair assessment and that they recognise the special
circumstances in which women work;
4. provide facilities for women
and men journalists to reconcile work and family life, including provision
of support for child care, flexible working hours, and support for women
who work night shifts (such as, free and secure transport arrangements and
special retiring rooms).
5. adopt and develop equal opportunity
policies and promote and publish vacancies to ensure fair access of all to
employment and agree with unions and employee representatives on positive
actions in favour of gender equality;
6. Commit themselves to
working with unions and associations of journalists and media staff to
eliminate all forms of violence, harassment and intimidation against women
in the media workplace.
Media
Unions and Associations must
1. adopt and develop equal
opportunity policies and actions to promote and encourage the
participation of women at all levels in the union;
2. ensure that
equal opportunities policy and gender rights figure in all collective
bargaining arrangements with media employers
3. pledge to have
proportional representation of women on all decision making bodies by the
next IFJ Congress in 2007;
4. ensure that participation by union
members at any of their meetings, seminars and delegations is
gender-balanced;
5. The media employees’ unions commit themselves
to working together with media employers to promote fair gender portrayal
in the media, including the development of guidelines;
Finally,
Indian affiliates of the IFJ commit themselves to organise within their
structure, without further delay, a Gender Council made up of journalists
working in journalism, of which at least half the members shall be women.
This council will promote equal rights for women in journalism, will
monitor gender equality policies and activities in the unions, including
training for women journalists, and will ensure gender mainstreaming in
all aspects of union activity. Similar gender councils should be
established at state and local
level.
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