To make a mark : A qualitative study of female journalist's working conditions in Ghana

Abstract: This is a qualitative study based on fieldwork carried out in Accra, Ghana April 3 – May 29, 2010. The aim was to shed light on how a selected number of female Ghanaian journalists experience their working conditions from a gender based perspective. The material consists of eight semi-structured interviews ranging from 20 minutes to 1 hour 12 minutes. The interviewees are female, Ghanaian journalists between 23 and 46 years old working in print or broadcast media in Ghana.  The interviews were analyzed thematically resulting in seven sub-headings, all relating to my research questions, which were: - Is being a female journalist in Ghana today in any way a disadvantage/advantage? - How do female journalists in Ghana experience their opportunities to advance and be promoted? - Do female journalists in Ghana experience any differences between them and their male colleagues? Do they report on different kinds of subjects? My analysis conclude there are a number of disadvantages being female within the media in Ghana: there is a perception of female journalists being flirtatious and less professional than male journalists, it is challenging for female journalists to start a family since journalism is a very time-consuming profession and the responsibility for domestic work is still primarily on the woman and, finally, the interviewees experience they have to distinguish themselves from their male colleagues and make their mark as competent and professional to really be taken seriously. Concerning the opportunity to get promoted there is a contradiction; the interviewees all experience they have the opportunity to get promoted as long as they work hard, nevertheless they recognize a male-domination among their executives and expresses an awareness of gender based promotions. The interviewees claim they can report on whatever subjects they want, but they all express an awareness of the distinction between topics primarily covered by women and others by men. This contradiction is similar to the one articulated above. To sum up, there is a discrepancy between how the interviewees felt about their own situation and how they perceive the inequality issues surrounding them.