Unesco in partnership with UN Women organized a roundtable discussion on “Gender-friendly Working Environment in Media”at Hotel Amari in the capital on Thursday.
The discussion was held as a part of an ongoing consultation with the creative sector and media in Bangladesh, said a press release on Thursday.
Speakers from the media, creative industry and newsroom joined the discussion.
This consultation provided an open platform for discussion on the concept of gender, the need for artistic freedom and expression, gender roles and narratives in this sector, gender policy situation and gender-friendly working environment in these creative industries.
The event was graced by Masum Reza, script writer; Azmeri Haque Badhan, actor; Krishnendu Chattopadhaya, director; Peya Jannatul, lawyer and model; Manoj Kumar Pramanik, actor and film teacher; Subrina Irine, director; Samiksha Koirala, PhD, Assistant Professor of Journalism and Media, Department of Political Science and Sociology, NSU; Tabassum Islam Shusmi, lecturer, ULAB; Reaz Ahmad, executive editor, Dhaka Tribune; Israt Jahan Urmi, journalist, DBC News; Meer Ahsan Habib, columnist, and communication specialist; Miraj Ahmed Chowdhury, managing director, Digitally Rights; Munima Sultana, special correspondent, The Financial Express; Abu Sayed Sumon, National Program Officer-Gender & Human Rights, UNFPA including other distinguished representatives from the media and creative industry of Bangladesh as the discussants.
“As media professionals, everyone gathered today has a critical role to play in influencing both the current agenda and also future generations’’, Unesco Dhaka Officer-in-charge Susan Vize commented while inaugurating the discussion.
“Unesco and UN Women are jointly supporting dialogues on the importance of a gender-friendly working environment in media and the recommendations from you all will enable us to advocate with media houses to strengthen equality dimensions in policy, codes, and guidelines, with action plans and clear targets for implementation and monitoring and ensure safe working conditions,’’ said Gitanjali Singh, country representative, UN Women.
"A gender friendly environment, where all men and women will get the same incentives, is extremely challenging to think of in today's society," said Reaz Ahmad.
He stated: “As there are now very few women working in the media or creative industries. In order to highlight both the positive and negative narrative of the media environment, it is crucial that we conduct research and collect data on various media landscapes. It will assist the media in freeing themselves of click-bait profits.”
A woman's and a man's working hours and workplace can never be the same, according to Peya Jannatul.
Journalists, editors, and organizations must collaborate together to develop a gender-friendly workplace, she said.
"The organization needs its own alterations to its structure, at the very least in the recruitment of staff, gender awareness should be taken into consideration," stated Miraz Ahmed.
Additionally, the media needs to begin utilizing its existing networking infrastructure, he added.
Azmeri Haque Badhan stated at one point in the conversation: "First of all, the regulatory structure should be rectified and everyone should be made aware of gender concerns. We'll later produce short video clips on those best practices and promote them on social media. There should be additional seminars held to raise such awareness.”
The myth states that if the plot revolves around a female character, the play or the film won't find an audience, according to Masum Reza.
“Additionally, the workplace environment for media professionals is not particularly welcoming for women given the circumstances as a whole. In addition to advocating for policies, all popular content generated must be reviewed via a gender lens.”
Manoj Pramanik stated during his speech that Economic disparity and gender inequality are closely intertwined. It is necessary to conduct a thorough research to get the right response.
Regarding working conditions and working relationships in the media, Israt Jahan Urmi emphasized that Gatekeepers of the media need to be included in such discussions.
“We don't truly comprehend gender”, Krishnandu Chattopadhyay remarked; because there isn't any chance to raise awareness of it at any level of our educational system.
“If we include courses on gender, civic sense, and creativity in our curriculum, perhaps one day we will be more gender sensitive.”
The discussants shared their valuable insights and experiences on the issues and highlighted the pressing need to work on gender-friendly work environments in the media.
The roundtable discussion was moderated by Kizzy Tahnin, program officer, culture, Unesco