MEDIA INSTITUTIONS should establish guidelines to ensure that hiring decisions are based on qualifications, not gender, to prevent discrimination, a broadcast journalist said.
Bernadette Reyes, an anchor and reporter for GMA News, said women in the media continue to face gender-based discrimination, as their capabilities are often questioned when they take on roles traditionally perceived as more suited for men.
“Any newsroom organization should have clear guidelines when it comes to gender equality. We should always look at it [from] the perspective of the position being applied for, the qualifications of the people who are applying, and not whether their gender is male or female,” Reyes told The Flame after delivering a talk on the role of women in investigative journalism on Monday, March 2, at the Central Laboratory Auditorium.
“It is important for women to be represented in newsrooms and other organizations because women are very much capable, and we see ourselves as equal to men. Whatever men can do, we can do as well,” she added.
During her talk, Reyes said gender stereotypes in media were reflected in beat assignments, citing a study which suggested that hard news and political coverage have long been associated with male reporters.
“There was this study saying that hard news, political news, [are] meant for male reporters… Crime stories, they say, are better when being reported by men… And then, women are confined to other stories like health, budgeting, personal finance, things like that,” she said.
According to Reyes, her current workplace upholds equality as beat assignments are not determined by gender. Journalists in her network are assigned to high-risk areas such as conflict zones and disaster sites regardless of gender, she added.
Aside from gender discrimination, Reyes said one of the most common challenges female reporters face in the field is harassment, which includes sexual, verbal and online abuse.
However, while female journalists face these challenges, they also have opportunities to tell stories in a “unique” way from a woman’s perspective, she added.
“While both men and women are capable of telling a story, there’s that unique touch that women are able to express more, looking at it from the perspective of women. For example, in my story about teenage pregnancy, it’s only the women who are capable of childbearing. So who better to tell those stories than women,” she said.
Female reporters, Reyes said, continue to demonstrate resilience despite the difficulties they encounter in an industry still viewed by some as male-dominated.
“So that is our story, our struggles in the field. It is difficult, but it is also fulfilling. And the work of a reporter is not only for men. It is for everyone,” she added.
The event, organized by the UST Department of Philosophy, carried the theme “Women in All Fields: Empowered Capabilities, Limitless Possibilities” and marked the start of the National Women’s Month. F
