The Director General of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture has challenged Liberian Female Journalists to begin “engaging their male counterparts in the fight for gender equality, this she believes is the biggest leverage women would have in their journalism profession.
Madam Emma Metieh Glassco in her message to the new leadership of the Female Journalists Association Friday January 29, 2021 at a local hotel in Paynesville further urged them to ensure that more women ascend to higher positions like their male journalists.
Hon. Glassco stressed that there’s absolutely no reason women can’t achieve breakthroughs in the work of Gender Partnership. She said “women can even do it better, because of the natural passion for competition and perfection as such, engaging men in the fight for gender equality is the single biggest leverage women have”.
The NaFAA Boss warned women to avoid being climbing the ladder one by one, with the thought that ‘we got one more woman to the top, working side by side with men.’ Madam. Glassco pointed out that men control the power in government, commerce, science and academia therefore as such women should “stop blaming men and start engaging them, as such they would have taken the single biggest step toward full Gender Partnership!”
She maintained that “it seems insane that we as a nation are still struggling with the inability to surface and remove both conscious and unconscious forms of discrimination in our society”. Commenting on the situations at work places Madam Glassco stressed that Women and girls typically face higher risks and greater burdens in society, and the journalism profession is no exception.
She observed that the Journalism “profession is heavily dominated by men and has huge risk associated and as such women have been traditionally underrepresented in the media, sometimes receiving backlashes.
The NaFAA Boss pointed out that whether it is in front of the camera, behind the camera, in the front office or back, there have been fewer women in positions of power and responsibility, with their voices not been heard until now”.
However, despite the situation Liberian females are experiencing Mrs. Glassco noted that some women are doing great in their professions stating that “we witnessed firsthand a paradigm shift in a woman president at national level, now a woman vice at national level and also women in cabinet as well as heads of SOEs and autonomous agencies.
She also noted that “in the journalism profession women have taking up key roles citing, the State-Run Media House, the Liberia Broadcasting System which is being led by my friend and sister, Estelle Liberty Kermoh, with other women playing senior managerial roles as well”.
She however expressed discouragement in the leadership of the Press Union of Liberia which is heavily dominated by men despite women membership.
The NaFAA Boss also urged Liberian Female Journalists to “be challenged, pursue excellence, be bold, speak out, and let your voices be heard at the decision making table and to the new leadership, she said it is more than about just taking up power and position, it goes way beyond that”.
Hon. Glassco mentioned that, it is about service and the one thing that hold people together, is trust which is absolutely fundamental to getting anything done”.
Mrs. Glassco indicated that in organizations trust is one of the biggest issues that people don’t talk about, but it impedes progress as such the challenge is upon the new Leadership of the Female Journalist Association of Liberia to either move the institution forward or kill the spirit. She urged them to avoid complacency and manifest hard work for the overall transformation of the Female Journalist Association of Liberia.
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