Print, radio and television companies in South Africa were feeling pressured by the demands of the government's Employment Equity Act of 1999 to promote affirmative action and women in the media industry, according to a new study on Race and Gender in South African Media. The first leg of a nationwide study on women in the media in South Africa was undertaken by the Graduate Programme in Cultural and Media Studies at the University of Natal, Durban.

Researcher Farhana Goga conducted the UNESCO-funded investigation. Her research titled Towards Affirmative Action: Issues of Race and Gender in Media Organisations, was conducted among 13 of the 23 print and broadcasting companies and 24 journalists and media workers. The study revealed that women in the media industry were not trained for senior positions and that they had to work twice as hard as men for the same recognition. The report also found that Indian and coloured employees were experiencing marginalisation and that whites, fearing that they would be retrenched on the grounds of affirmative action, were becoming a disillusioned workforce.

However, research leader Professor Keyan Tomaselli reported that the study should be viewed as a positive intervention to assist the media industry in its transformation, hammered out as it was with participants from the media industry, including editors, senior managers and human resources to provide solutions required by the Employment Equity Act.

“In a period of transition, companies are grappling with redressing past discriminatory factors within company structure. Media companies are in a unique position where they not only report on but have to implement government policy such as the Employment Equity Act 1999," added Ms Goga whose research is based on half the number of questionnaires sent to print and broadcasting institutions with only 13 responding.

The government's Gender Desk at the Government Communication and Information Services (GCIS) is expected to conduct workshops for senior management and journalists. For a full text of the report and workshop details, contact Professor Keyan Tomaselli on e-mail: tomasell@mtb.und.ac.za or visit the website at http://www.und.ac.za/und/ccms/