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Paidamoyo Chipunza Senior Reporter
Women with leadership positions in the media should apply skills acquired during a recent year-long management training to their everyday work to improve the recognition of females’ contribution in the newsroom, veteran journalist Mr Vincent Kahiya has said.

Speaking during a management course graduation ceremony for women in leadership from different media houses in Harare yesterday, Mr Kahiya, who sits on the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers-Women in News (WAN-IFRA) steering committee, said women leaders should also use their acquired skills as stepping stones to furthering their careers.

“This is a licence for you to strengthen your work and advance your career,” he said.
“Do not keep this certificate in a drawer; instead, start putting the skills you have acquired into practice.”

WAN-IFRA, said Mr Kahiya, was committed to continue supporting women in news to enhance their skills.
The Sunday Mail assistant editor Ms Wendy Nyakurerwa, The Herald features editor Roselyne Sachiti and The Herald gender editor Ruth Butaumocho — all from the Zimpapers stable — were among the graduates.

Women in News project manager Ms Molly Chimhanda said about 70 women leaders had been trained since 2016 from selected countries in Africa and South East Asia.

Other African countries taking part in the programme are Botswana, Rwanda and Zambia.
Ms Chimhanda said the programme was designed to increase women’s participation in management and editorial decisions within their media companies.

She said it was also meant to mobilise the industry to collectively create an environment that promoted gender equality and positive social change.

“WIN aims at equipping high-potential media women with the strategies, skills and support networks they need to excel in their career,” said Ms Chimhanda.

“Whether the aim is to improve performance or to advance to higher levels within organisations, WIN will assist them in visualising, concretising, and actualising the steps necessary to achieve their goals.”

Ms Chimhanda said the programme, which was running for four years, was expected to capacitate at least 350 women in the selected countries.

The programme, she said, was occasioned by the fact that women were under-represented in the newsrooms, which also impacted negatively on coverage of developmental and human rights issues.

The WAN-IFRA is a global organisation of the world’s newspapers and news publishers, representing more than 18 000 publications, 15 000 online sites and over 3 000 companies in more than 120 countries.

The WIN programme is one of the association’s developmental work in strengthening the capacity of media institutions by addressing the apparent poor representation of women in senior management positions.