Women and Sport Botswana Hosts Gender Sensitive Reporting Workshops for Media

Women and Sport Botswana (WASBO) continues to have conversations with the media on gender-sensitive reporting. The first session was hosted on 27 June 2020 and the next session will be hosted on 20 November 2021. The June 2020 session was “A Conversation Around Gender Sensitive Reporting with the Media” and was hosted at the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) Board Room.

WASBO recognizes the media as an important stakeholder in helping deliver the mandate of advocacy, guidance, and influence in the creation of a conducive environment for the participation of women and girls in sport in Botswana. The media plays a key role in modeling public attitudes and perceptions about women and men, thus becoming an important partner in the area of attraction and retention of women and girls in sport.

Gender-sensitive reporting treats fair gender portrayal as professional and ethical conduct which contributes to a more gender balanced and inclusive society.

The overall objective of the sessions is to contribute to a more diverse and gender-sensitive and equipped media and society as well as promote the exchange of ideas and experiences between the media and WASBO.

The sessions focus on the below facets of Gender Sensitive Reporting;

1. 1. Fair portrayal of sportswomen and men through the elimination of stereotypes.

1. 2. Use of gender-fair language.

1. 3. Selection of sources and stories in order to achieve a balanced presence of sportswomen and men in the media.