The Commission on Journalistic Ethics as a self-regulatory body of journalists and newsrooms in Ukraine, alongside Women in Media NGO, proposes a template policy on gender equality in the media context.
This policy can be adopted by any type of media regardless of the type as a separate document or as part of existing policies.
The policy was developed by Liza Kuzmenko, head of Women in Media NGO and a member of the Commission on Journalistic Ethics, and reviewed by Otar Dovzhenko, media expert and the chair of the Independent Media Council.
In today’s society, the media have an enormous potential for social change. This is emphasized in Recommendation CM/Rec (2013)1 of the Council of Europe to member states on gender equality and media.
The media’s potential to raise awareness and protect women’s fundamental rights and to promote their advancement was internationally recognized back in 1995 during the Fourth UN World Conference on Women in Beijing.
Media organizations should be encouraged to adopt self-regulatory measures, internal ethics code and internal oversight measures, to develop media broadcasting standards that promote gender equality, and to promote appropriate internal policies and create working conditions.
In the Law of Ukraine “On Ensuring Equal Rights and Opportunities of Women and Men” of 2005, it was emphasized that the media may adopt professional ethics codes and other corporate standards to prevent gender-based violence, including all forms of violence against women.
The state strategy for ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men for the period until 2030 requires that the media cover information in a gender-sensitive manner.
To make this a common practice, we suggest that newsrooms adopt a policy of gender equality in content and strictly adhere to it.
The policy is available on the Commission’s website.
This material was published with the support of the OSCE Support Program for Ukraine. This publication expresses exclusively the views of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the official position of the OSCE.