Young female journalists have been advised on how to overcome bias against women in the profession and enhance their careers.
They were counselled by top female journalists at a discussion forum to mark the 2022 International Women’s Day organised by Media Career Development Network (MCDN) in Lagos on the theme #Breakthebias.
The speakers included Deputy Director, Voice of Nigeria, Mr Ugonma Cokey, Temitope Ojo, Senior Correspondent, Vanguard Allure, Funmi Falobi, Editor, Social Development News and Alhaja Sekinat Lawal, Managing Editor, Smartviews Online.
Ojo charged the participants including young and student female journalists to stop making frequent excuses for lapses and limitations as this could stand in the way of their career growth.
“Yes, the limitations are there, but we can break it. If you want to grow, you should not limit yourself,” she said adding that “as a woman, you have to learn how to combine a lot of things well.”
“ If you are diligent in your work and duties, when there’s an opportunity, they will not look at you and say you won’t be able to handle it.
“When we started, there were not many female editors but now we have female editors because women have proven that when you give them tasks to do, they do it well,” she said.
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She advised the participants to be versatile in their knowledge of issues and know a little about everything.
“ That you are an entertainment reporter does not mean you can’t report politics or other beats. There is an entertainment part of sports, politics and other beats too,” Ojo stated.
Falobi in her contribution urged female journalists to be diligent in their assignments while giving out their best as they don’t know who might be watching.
Falobi recalled how she got into the media industry and how had her first by-line on her first day of resumption, and subsequent growth in the profession.
“I got to work as early as 8 am on my first day. I was expecting my editor to arrive so we could have our meeting. The editors started coming in around 11 am for their meeting. They saw me and asked ‘What are you doing here?’ I introduced myself as the new person and then my editor asked ‘Where is the story?’ I told him I didn’t bring any story, and that I’m just resuming today.
“He said, ‘my friend go to the streets, go and bring story!’ I started crying because I did not know which street or where to go. As I was contemplating and crying, I got a call from my mum and she said she just heard on the radio now that the Oshodi market was on fire.
“I quickly hurried to the scene to cover the story and that was how I got my first by-line. I wrote the story anyhow I could, sent it to my editor and by the time they worked on the story, it came out on the front page,” Falobi narrated.
She said that although she could write, getting a story was a big challenge and had to master sourcing for stories by approaching colleagues, networking and maintaining contacts.
Advising student journalists who are interested in any beat, Falobi said they have to work on their interests and request to be posted to that desk during their internship to get the necessary field exposure.
“As young female journalists, there are more opportunities now than before to key into, and during your internship, you get enough exposure and network that will help you to expand in your career,” she said.
While noting that journalism can be a tough profession for women, Mrs Cokey said they need to be determined to succeed.
“Your decision and determination will determine how far you want to go in journalism. If you get that and you have passion, then passion will drive you. But if you have not decided that already, even with your passion, somewhere along the line, you will take off at the first bark.
“To get to the top, you have to plan to go the extra mile. If you are somebody that wants business as usual, you won’t go far in this job,” she said.
Cokey charged women to be humble to learn, take up extra work not only as a challenge but also to celebrate it because it forces them to learn faster.
Responding to claims that female managers are more difficult with than men, the Deputy Director said they are misunderstood.
“Sometimes they say women are wicked. We are not wicked, we are just trying to make you be who you are supposed to be. You need to develop assorted skills, don’t just develop skills of what you are doing at that point.
“We didn’t use to have a development desk. When I was made to report to the UN and NGOs, all my stories were on development, my boss just created a development desk. It didn’t exist but they created it because of my skills.
“So sometimes, a department can be created for you because of how much hard work you have done and how much commitment they have seen,” she said.
Alhaja Lawal encouraged women to keep adding value to themselves in whatever they are doing and advised them to be focused and not allow negative comments from people to get at them.
“Keep adding value to yourself with the knowledge and experiences gained and focus on the goals you’ve set for yourself”, she said.
Ms Jiboku Oluwatoyin, a mental health advocate spoke on how women can cope with mental health issues.
She admonished women to pay attention to their mental health by ensuring that they are not just working, but that they are working productively and fruitfully, contributing to the community, and also relating harmoniously within a group.
She also spoke on the need for women to create a safe network at the workplace to look out for each other and be responsible towards the younger folks.
The speakers however advised women to speak up and share their burdens when they are going through challenges affecting their mental health and productivity at work to get help from others who might have had similar experiences.
Anchor of the event and the Executive Director of MCDN, Lekan Otufodunrin admonished experienced women journalists to be friendly and be approachable to the younger journalists who are prone to harassment.
