• Victor Bwire said that the media should address the underrepresentation of women in the cooperative movement in Kenya.
• MCK said that it has been steadfast in implementing initiatives aimed at highlighting issues around women by partnering with like-minded organisations.
Journalists have been encouraged to use their profession to increase the representation of women in the cooperative movement in Kenya.
Media Council of Kenya (MCK) head of Media Development and Strategy Victor Bwire has said that the council is developing a gender training curriculum to assist in efforts towards promoting quality and impactful reporting on gender issues
Bwire said that the media should address the underrepresentation of women in the cooperative movement in Kenya, which he said remains male-dominated yet women are leaders in informal collectives.
“Journalists should use their position to elevate women to ascend to elective roles and decision-making in the co-operatives movement in Kenya,” Bwire said.
In his remarks on Tuesday in a forum, Bwire said that the council has made some steps in campaign awareness for gender quality, which includes awarding journalists reporting on empowerment of women, and men in society and influencing policy around the same.
He added that MCK has been steadfast in implementing initiatives aimed at highlighting issues around women by partnering with like-minded organisations.
MCK’s Assistant Director in Media Training and Development Christine Nguku said that the media needs to be cognizant of the current era in their coverage.
“The media needs to be cognizant of the fact that religious socialisation in our upbringing has impacted the gender-related -role attitude, and behaviours in our society,” Christine said.
The council said that it has partnered with USAID’s clear program to train Kenyan journalists on gender-sensitive reporting and cooperative businesses.