Women journalists, unstoppable in their profession, despite the difficulties

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I will start this article with a simple question: How ambitious should you be to be able to pursue your dream as a woman in Kosovo, especially when your dream is considered by the people as a “difficult” and a profession for “man”? The answer is: A lot! But, not only that. In addition to the ambition that everyone who wants to pursue their dream needs, they also need strength to face prejudices, injustices, and a “bag” full of challenges that you have to overcome as a rider, obstacles in battlefield.

There are several laws in Kosovo that regulate and promote gender equality in the country, including the Law on Gender Equality, the Family and the Law on Protection Against Domestic Violence. But how difficult it has been for women in Kosovo, during different periods of time, to develop their journalism profession and whether they have ever felt penalized by irresponsible gender budgeting, we will understand between the lines.

Sebiha Ramaxhiku, journalist, who had started working as a first-year student in journalism and diplomacy at RTP, as an external collaborator in 1976, tells how, fortunately for her, she had enjoyed the support of her family for the choice she made, but for those girls and women who did not have the same fate, the difficulties have been twofold.

“For all this experience, the biggest difficulties have been the way the media has functioned, especially in the pre-war period as there has been different censorships, while in terms of other obstacles, there have been problems that follow you in the media as a stressful and dynamic type of work, for women, there are the family obligations, when they have children and you have to find a way not to lose your career, but not to neglect the care of children either”, she says.

But, as to whether she has ever encountered pay discrimination due to gender, either from personal experience or from the experiences of people around her who are in the media, she said that with the state of the media now, when we also have a lot of private media, it often happens that the determination of salary is made by how much one likes.

“I want to overcome this problem, not only for women, but for all employees, as during the salary assessment I do not see that there are defined criteria, including: education, experience, work responsibility, etc., based on which the salary is then determined “, said Ramaxhiku.

Also, Dafina Demaku, a journalist by profession who is now an editor at an online media, points out that in her workplace, everyone is paid for the work they do, regardless of gender. While, some of the difficulties throughout her career as a journalist, even for her remain parental duties, but also the inability to follow only one sector as a journalist.

“I am a mother of two children and both children were born while I was developing my profession”. I have personally succeeded, but I think it is quite difficult, especially in the circumstances in which Kosovo is, in terms of opportunities to offer kindergartens/nurseries, economic conditions (in general) in our country, etc.”, she says.

Demaku estimates that the work of women in the media is to be admired, for the energy and dedication they have, always starting from her experience as an editor in the medium where she has been working for 5 years now.

“I have noticed that girls and women have tremendous energy in the journalism profession. Perhaps, being a profession that requires a lot of detail and exclusively detail, I have noticed that women are the ones who do this work with dedication. I do not want to look ridiculous or negative about the work of the opposite sex, but from 5 years of experience in the medium where I work and where we usually organize work with girls and women who are journalists here, I have noticed that our success often depends on the dedication of girls and women here. Therefore, I consider that women should be given even more opportunities for leadership in this profession “, said Demaku.

Although in the media industry, some of the women interviewed state that they have not encountered gender pay discrimination, in Kosovo a significant problem remains the employment and representation of women in institutions and leadership positions. The report published for 2019 by the GAP Institute on employment and representation of women in Kosovo, which statistically presents the position of women in employment, education and social welfare, reflects that the employment rate of women, especially in senior positions, remains very low, compared to men.

“Except in management positions, in general, the rate of employed women remains lower than that of men. Whereas, the unemployment rate for men, in 2019, was 22.8% or 6.3 pp lower than in 2018, The unemployment rate for women was 32.7% or 2.1 pp higher than in 2018. Therefore, while unemployment for men has decreased, for women the opposite has happened,” it is cited in the report.

At the Employment Agency in 2019, the number of male jobseekers was 52,343 and that of women 43,547, while 6,700 of registered female job seekers had completed bachelor studies, a higher number than male jobseekers with the same profile, according to the report. If we talk about raising people’s awareness of whether discrimination in the workplace due to gender is illegal or not, a publication by the Kosovo Women’s Network shows that 85% of respondents agree that discrimination on the basis of gender in the workplace is illegal. Thus, most of the respondents knew that this issue is regulated by the legal framework of Kosovo.

The message of journalists Sebiha Ramaxhiku and Dafina Demaku is simple and clear: “Continue the commitment to fulfill the mission of the sacred profession of journalism, because our country, Kosovo, needs the energy and power of women.”

According to a practical guide on Gender Responsive Budgeting by the Kosovo Women’s Network, the benefits of using GRB are as follows:

1. The way public spending is allocated can contribute to reducing gender inequalities within a society.

2. Successful implementation of the GRB approach within the government budget can increase the effectiveness of the allocation of funds.

3. Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of spending can enable the government to allocate sufficient funds to carry out the roles and responsibilities it currently has.

4. Budget officers, budget departments, and institutions at the municipal and central levels can use GRB to better communicate and justify the needs of their departments to other institutions and parties, including the Ministry of Finance.

5. International research shows that greater equality between men and women leads to growth and economic prosperity.

This guide mentions as an idea for promoting GRB and organizing public hearings, as a useful way to better inform and raise awareness about the importance of Gender Responsive Budgeting.

Author: Agnesa Sejdiu