Gender Equality in Russian Journalism Russia
The majority of journalists in Russia may be women, but they still need to overcome stereotypes and inequality. In an interview with Nadezda Azhgikhina, a specialist in gender issues, a member of the Gender Council of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the national board of the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ), she stresses the need for gender training and a global strategy for equality particularly for media and trade union leaders. Ms. Azhgikhina states, “National media ownership and management is still a male-dominated club. Stereotypes are still alive despite dozens of training sessions and discussions. But it takes time… It is important to discuss more, to have campaigns, international and national, using national details and cultures, involving art and literature, to change public opinion. We need to make an impact on the general public first and to involve as many people as we can. We have tried to arrange different events: gender media contests, fairs, Stop Sexism exhibitions in Russia and other countries, public discussions, talk shows on TV and radio, etc. We have cooperated with gender centres and other NGOs. But more should be done.”
She continues, “Unions should work on the issue (economic and social justice & equality), and decent work and life for women journalists in Russia is very important. But I don’t want to talk about women only, in Russia, where male journalists have a very short life span and very bad health, and leave the profession. Gender issues should be discussed as a whole, with the special needs of all included as part of the discussion. We need men in quality journalism as well (around 80 % of working journalists, not leaders, are women at this moment)…I would like to call upon everybody to listen to each other, to share experiences and be open-minded. The world is really diverse, and women suffer everywhere, actually more than men, but in different ways and diverse circumstances. And women in different parts of the globe have different strategies for protecting themselves. I would like to pay attention also to culture and its role in gender equality messages, to creativity, and to real sisterhood. There is no one recipe for everybody, even if we share the same human rights and gender equality values… life is much more complex, and it is important to keep in mind this complexity in order to achieve success and real equality and respect for everybody.”
Ms. Azhgikhina and her colleagues established The Association of Women Journalists in 1992 and she has published and edited 15 books on gender issues, culture and media.
A full copy of the interview can be found here: http://www.ituc-csi.org/spip.php?article4234
