Sierra Leone Elections 2018: Who Made the News

The project 'Sierra Leone Elections 2018: Who Made the News? A Media Gender Equality Score Card,' funded by United Nations Women in Sierra Leone and implemented by Initiatives for Media Development (IMdev), aimed to enhance gender equality and representation in the media, particularly concerning the elections. It focused on advocating for fair coverage, balance, accuracy, and non-discrimination in media reporting. With 40 monitors assessing 20 media outlets over eight weeks, the project aimed to hold editors and content producers accountable for their coverage.

The initiative also facilitated discussions among high-level media practitioners and gender stakeholders to address the lack of prominence given to women and gender issues in the media, especially in politics.

The methodology involved training monitors in coding processes at the UN Women's office in Freetown, with 40 monitors divided into groups to monitor newspapers, television stations, and radio stations across the country. The quantitative data collected focused on topics, themes, and issues, providing a detailed analysis of gender representation in the media. Qualitative analysis complemented the quantitative data, offering insights into the quality of coverage and weekly trends. Throughout the monitoring period, there was a noticeable imbalance in gender representation, with male sources dominating across media categories, although there were slight improvements over time.

Weekly findings highlighted the persistent gender gap in media representation, with male voices predominantly shaping the narrative. Despite efforts to increase female sources, particularly during the election period, newspapers and television stations remained male-dominated. Recommendations for action included gender-sensitive reporting training for media, development of gender-sensitive reporting policies, and efforts to build self-esteem and leadership skills for female candidates. The project emphasized the importance of mainstreaming gender advocacy and effective media monitoring and evaluation to address the imbalance and promote inclusive media representation in Sierra Leone.