By Comfort Mussa
A recommendation from one of our Comfort Zone readers was that I should give a Cameroonian perspective to the trending topic of gender pay gaps in media landscape. Good recommendation. I am also grateful for the feedback from our readers.
I would very much like to talk about gender pay gaps in the media landscape in Cameroon. Thing is, that will be putting the cart before the horse. Before talking about pay gaps, there has to be a pay in the first place.
I will explain.
First, a little background on what the global conversations have been about.
In January 2018, BBC China editor Carrie Gracie quit her post in an equal pay row. In the letter, posted on her blog, Ms Gracie – said “the BBC belongs to you, the license fee payer. I believe you have a right to know that it is breaking equality law and resisting pressure for a fair and transparent pay structure.”
She returned to her former post in the TV newsroom, “Where I expect to be paid equally”.
On Twitter, many people, including BBC journalists, expressed support for Ms Gracie using the hashtag#IStandWithCarrie .
Before Ms Gracie’s resignation from her post, another resignation that was much talked about was Catt Sadler’s. E! News anchor Catt Sadler resigned after learning about a massive pay gap that left her earning around half of what her male co-host made. She said so in a post on her official website in 2017
“Know your worth,” she wrote. “How can I accept an offer that shows they do not value my contributions and paralleled dedication all these years? How can I not echo the actions of my heroes and stand for what is right no matter what the cost? How can I remain silent when my rights under the law have been violated?”
These resignations from prominent media organizations amplified the conversations around equal pay in media. As a result, a good number of global agencies, broadcasters and publishers have been addressing disparities in their own organizations as the public and most women in media seek to expose such disparities.
In Cameroon, the discussion has not been a thing in media circles. In fact, discussions about pay gaps and working conditions of journalists usually come up mostly during media workshops and conferences. Beyond that, it’s virtually “everyman for himself”
Many journalists in Cameroon work under very poor conditions and with little or no remuneration. It is not uncommon for a graduate to be earning 30.000 FRS monthly as salary paid irregularly in some private media outfits. In some of these private set ups, it is not uncommon to find that the media house does not own headphones, recorders, the basic work tools or service vans.
These deplorable conditions serve the best interests of politicians and business moguls (some of them, media owners themselves). Their cheap offers designed to influence media content, are easier to accept in a struggling newsroom. A journalist doing decent work for decent pay is often above the pay grid of most people who want to pay/own their pens.
Do a quick survey of especially journalists working in private media to find out how many have work contracts or insurance. Out of ten, you‘ll hardly find up to four who do.
It is true that there are many non-financial rewards for practicing journalism and helping people make informed choices. However, when one does that on an empty stomach and in difficult working conditions it rather becomes a huge risk to the community.
The poor working conditions have pushed some journalists to resign, but when they do, they often keep sealed lips. Why do journalists not use their platforms to talk about poor working conditions for journalists in Cameroon?
We talk about the working conditions of teachers, doctors, domestic servants, drivers and never about ours. As a journalist I have heard for too long people talk about gutter journalism in Cameroon and the falling standards. A solution to this is multi-faceted but one approach is ensuring decent work and pay for journalists in Cameroon.
Soon it will be 3rd May again. As usual, trending conversations that week will be about “challenges faced by journalists in Cameroon”, “Effective elections reporting” and all the thematic conversations that we can hatch. It’s all good. The cycle of falling standards of journalism in Cameroon will still come back to haunt us if media owners and policy makers are not held accountable.
We have to urge media owners to improve the working conditions of journalists so that they can discharge their duties professionally.
Before we can talk about gender pay gaps in the media in Cameroon, let’s first ensure that the journalists (both male and female) at least have a pay.
Can we talk? Emails : info@sisterspeak237.com
Website: www.sisterspeak237.com