Gender and the media in Mauritius: a snapshot in perspective

Abstract

The article examined the quantitative findings of a study on Gender and the Media in Mauritius, spanning a period of one month. Nine media outlets, representing approximately one-third of all media outlets, from print, radio and television, both public and privately-owned, were chosen for the study. The unit of the study were news items from newspapers (excluding advertisements, letters to the editor and supplements) and news bulletins. In all, 3003 news items were monitored to capture a specified set of data: the sources used in the item, who presented the item and who featured in the item. The results indicated that women\'s voices and views are grossly under-represented in the Mauritian media: women constitute only 17 per cent of news sources, a figure close to the global average of 18 per cent. What the public hears, sees and reads daily in the Mauritian media is written and reported primarily by men. Moreover, men\'s voices dominate in all hard news categories. In certain occupational categories, women\'s voices are virtually unheard.

Key words: gender, media, women, news, media representation

Journal of Social Development in Africa Vol.19(2) 2004: 134-160