United Nations to initiate scorecard for gender friendly media in Nigeria

The United Nations (UN) Women have disclosed plans to initiate criteria for a scorecard that will be used to assess gender-responsive media, aimed to show the media organisations that are mainstreaming gender in news reporting and programming in Nigeria

Penpushing reports that the Country Representative to Nigeria and Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) Beatrice Eyong made this known at the maiden edition of United Nations (UN) Women Nigeria Media Partners Conference held at the United Nations (UN) building in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT)

The world body organization representative who tasked participants which comprises media managers across the country to rise from the conference with a work plan explained that they should consider outlines significant things the media can do to improve gender equality and women’s empowerment

‘We want you to rise from this conference with a work plan. A work plan that outlines significant things the media can do to improve gender equality and women’s empowerment. A workplan that says, this and this is what we will do to change the narrative around women’s issues through electronic, print, and digital media’, she said.

Penpushing further reports that Eyong emphasized that calling for commitment of the media in the country stated that this will culminate with a gender media awards, to celebrate gender media champions and media houses who are the forefront of our clamour for equal opportunity.

‘From this conference, we will agree on criteria for a scorecard that will be used to assess gender-responsive media. We plan that there will be a quarterly publication of this scorecard, which shows the media organisations that are mainstreaming gender in news reporting and programming’, Eyong added.

‘This will culminate with a gender media awards, to celebrate gender media champions and media houses who are the forefront of our clamour for equal opportunity. We are also looking forward to your commitment. The particular things you would do in 2024 to advance advocacy for equal opportunity and women’s empowerment’.

Penpushing also reports that she identified four thematic areas which the United Nations (UN) Women in Nigeria focuses on and this include Gender and Participation in Public Life , Women’s economic empowerment, Women’s peace and security and humanitarian action, Elimination of violence against women and girls and Normative and Coordination

‘Over the years we have partnered with the government of Nigeria, CSOs and donors advocate for increased representation of women in leadership, at the communal, local government, state, and federal level’, she stated.

‘To blur the poverty in Nigeria, we invest in interventions that enhance women’s livelihood and enable women to have income security, decent work, and economic autonomy. We are working with the Nigerian government to institutionalize gender-affirmative procurement policies and mechanisms that will improve women’s participation in public and private procurement contracts’, Eyong said

‘We work with the government and partners to promote sustainable participation of women in peacebuilding and conflict resolution and to ensure all women and girls benefit equally from humanitarian actions’, she explained.

‘We work with stakeholders to ensure policies and laws are implemented to curb the prevalence of GBV, and that victims and survivors get access to justice and social services. Three UN Women-supported one-stop centers are currently in operation in Sokoto, Lagos and Cross Rivers and have provided services for over 3000 GBV survivors, including boys. We have strengthened the capacity of community surveillance groups and institutions which are reporting GBV issues and providing survivors access to legal and economic justice’.

‘Our work is also to ensure we provide coordination and oversight support for government and partners’ gender-responsive interventions across Nigeria to ensure synergy and productive collaboration. We recently launched the zonal coordination platforms for Northeast, North Central, South-East, South-South, and South-West’.

‘We needed a media conference to bring the multimedia together so that collectively, they can re-access their efforts so far in bringing women’s issues to the front burner and changing the narrative around myths and social norms that are barriers to gender equality and women’s empowerment’.

‘The question then is, “Has the media done enough to change the negative gender perception of the public?” “Have we done enough to pressure the government into adopting gender-responsive policies?” “How do we enhance judicial action to fast-track prosecution of gender-based violence offenders?” “Is there something the media can do about the gender bills that were set aside by the National Assembly?”

‘Outcomes from this Conference will to an extent answer these questions. So I am looking forward to a productive discourse that will spur increased media action for gender equality and women’s empowerment’, she stressed.

FOOTNOTE: You want to share story with us? You want to advertise with us? You need publicity for product, or service, or   event? Contact us on WhatsApp +2348073463653 or email [email protected]