“Achieving gender equality in media organizations through adequate …

Let me apologize first of all for my english. I'm french speaking. So don't be surprised my english is not a very good one. It is a very good idea to hold this online discussion about women and media. I'm based in Cameroon and I'm the current chair of APAC (an african media women organization gethering many francophone countries in Africa) About the topic of the week, let me say that it's not so simple. The problem is different depending on who owns the media. The governmental structure such as the national tv or Cameroon-Tribune ( wich is the governmental daily) journalists are nominated at all the levels. In Cameroon, the general director of SOPECAM, the governmental structure owning Cameroon-Tribune, is a female journalist; and there are some others holding decision making position in the national TV. Since those are publics affairs, it's normal and fair to require the government to give female professionals decision making positions. But it's quite different in private media. In my country, there are many newspapers, TV and radio structures, all owiing to men. It's difficult to get them accept to give women positions. Since they invested there money in their businesses, they do what they want, as they want and nobody can say anything about that. The solution here should be finding a way to help and encourage women to invest in the sector. But is that possible? Anyway, I don't see how we can complain about the very reduced or inexixting nomber of women in decision making position in those medias. Concerning section J of Beijing plate-form, african female journalists thought in the years after Beijing that some thing will change, but today, it's just as if everything was forgotten, or rather being up to date only in New York. ( in the UN offices) Even while working with young professionnals, it seems that they don't even know that Beijing conference did ever exist. Personnaly, I feel that there is something wrong in the efforts concerning women, and specially female media professionals.