Glass Ceilings: cybermisogyny is a sign of unchecked sexism in media and newsrooms

Abstract

abstract This article is an explication of the patchwork quilt of various sexist subjections and stereotyping that women journalists experience in the South African media. It makes an assessment of women journalists’ status 25 years after the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA), adopted by 189 countries as a roadmap for gender equality. Women and Media, a critical area of concern of the BPfA, calls for commitment to end sexism and sexist stereotyping by and in the media as one of the conditions needed for the achievement of gender equality. This research examines the status of women journalists in the media using the theoretical lens of radical democracy to bring marginalised and diverse voices to the centre. Radical democracy theorist Chantal Mouffe elucidates the value of inclusive journalism for the deepening of democracy. The concept of a deep democracy is useful to examine whether women journalists identify progressive changes, consistent with the Beijing call for an end to sexism in the media. The research data was collected by the author through a collaborative research project, the Glass Ceilings: women in South African media houses, 2018, conducted with Gender Links and the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF). The article analyses the findings drawn from more than 10,000 responses to a survey which asked: is gender discrimination a problem in the newsroom? Among the findings women reported experiencing an increase in sexism and sexist stereotyping in the South African media. It is argued that cybermisogyny by online media, against which there is little protection for the women journalists targeted, is an increasingly threatening form of silencing of women in media and by society that calls for action by government, media organisations and women media activists. The research findings reinforce the relevance of the Beijing commitment to end sexism in the media and for media activists in holding governments and media organisations accountable locally and globally.