An Investigation of Career Barriers for Female Television News Anchor in Nigeria - Dissertation Example

? RESEARCH PROPOSAL: AN INVESTIGATION OF COMMON CAREER BARRIERS FACED BYFEMALE TELEVISION NEWS ANCHORS IN NIGERIA RESEARCH PROPOSAL: AN INVESTIGATIONOF COMMON CAREER BARRIERS FACED BYFEMALE TELEVISION NEWS ANCHORS IN NIGERIA 1. INTRODUCTION This paper proposes a dissertation, exploratory in nature, in order to identify the factors which hinder the females in Nigeria from joining television as a news anchor. The study also aims at exploring the barriers in professional/career development of female news anchors that are already in the television news industry. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country. It has ethnic, cultural and religious diversity. It has many tribes that are located in various locations in the country, with each having its own unique culture. These tribes during pre-colonial times have had their women enjoying equal social status with the men, especially with their respected traditional government systems (Ajayi, 2007, p. 137-138). For example, there are Women’s Leaders, Goddess Priests and Market Women’s Leader (among others) in the Yoruba tribes in South Nigeria. There are also Queens in Northern Nigeria that contribute to the local political influences and development (Ajayi, 2007, p. 138). These all changed when the British colonized Nigeria since the British Colonial Administration actively pushed discriminatory sex roles in the nation’s politics (Ajayi, 2007). This reduced women’s power and relevance in their society. The women were denied opportunities in career, business and politics. They were marginalized. Nigeria is a male-dominated society. In Islamic religion, especially in the Sharia law, women and men have very different roles, rights and obligations. This is largely due to their religion, which is Islam. This is where the major sexual and gender differences start in their society. This law therefore dictates the woman’s fate in terms of education, employment, finances and even in legislation. Television, having introduced women on the screen, in roles often contradictory to the stereotypical domestic role of the women in society, has also given rise to some fundamental, social, cultural, professional and ethical issues, which have come to affect the career paths of women in the industry. Gender stereotyping is not limited to the field of television. This is an issue which transcends all strata of organizational, social and family life in Nigeria (Agnes & Ijeoma, 2010). Before the advent of television in Nigeria, parents believed in sending their sons to acquire formal education in Law, Medicine or Engineering while encouraging their daughters to learn the family trade and then get married. Society believed that a woman’s place resides squarely in the home and in rare cases when they were allowed to go to university, such conventional courses as mentioned above were the accepted courses to study. This was due to the image of prestige, dignity, integrity and decorum associated with such traditional career paths (Charles, 1989). There is a study in the United States by Engstrom and Ferri, about the Local U.S. Television News Anchors’ Perceived Career Barriers. The study found out that most career barriers are often sexist in nature. There is no tangible evidence for sexism though, as both men and women have reported having less time at home. The study covers both sexes but it also shows how the sex determines one’s career. In the case of women, their decision to further their career is often hampered with their other concerns, particularly with that of the family and even physical appearance and ageism. This can come as career barriers. Culture appears to be the most powerful barrier in the pursuit of a profession in TV sector among Nigerian women. The Nigerian culture encourages submissiveness in women and the Nigerian women have faced a lot of gender stereotyping in their society, which are even present till date (Poindexter & Meraz, 2008). However, there are probably other factors that contribute to the stagnation of the careers of women that are not investigated upon. The prominence of the female news anchors in their professions due to their visibility in the public eye makes them the ideal samples because they provide a concrete example of women working with men in a seemingly gender sensitive environment. Coupled with Nigeria’s unique gender-centric culture, this study is undertaken to find out the other common career barriers of the female TV News Anchors in Nigeria. Rationale for research There is a lot of literature proving gender discrimination in the TV related professions in Nigeria, but there is a gap in the literature, regarding the exact causes/factors of this. To elucidate the factors influencing the successes and failures of female careers on television, this proposal intends to look at the barriers that affect and continue to affect the career paths of pioneer women and women currently working as TV anchors, how their roles in society, religion, governance, family influence their role as media women. This thesis will also examine how the factors affect the shift in public perception of these women over time, with focus on the perception of women working in television as a chosen career path. Problem Statement The problem statement for this proposed study is: ‘To study the barriers in the career of women news anchors in Nigeria’. Research Objectives 1. To ascertain factors that women news anchors perceive as obstacles or challenges to their career development. 2. To ascertain if family life and ageism are the other key factors influencing the career growth of women television news anchors. 3. Analyze other causes of sudden career death or growth as the case may be for women news anchors. Research Questions 1. What factors do women news anchors in Nigeria today perceive as obstacles to their career development? 2. Does family life pose as a hindering factor in career development of female news anchors in Nigeria? 3. What is the public perception of women in Media? 4. What alternative career paths are open for women who leave the industry? THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Female TV News Anchors in Nigeria have their careers stagnated by some reason or another. Current literature states that culture is one of the culprits of the said slow career development for women. Ascertaining the reasons Female TV News Anchors have stagnated careers is not just about gathering data through a survey. The data collected needs to be analyzed and grounded in a theoretical framework in order for it to make sense. A detailed review of certain social theories shows quite a number of relevant theories. A theoretical framework based on possible explanations of the professional barriers faced by female anchor persons in Nigeria is given below. Social stereotyping theory perhaps best explains the reason why women’s professional growth as TV persons is hindered in Nigeria. According to the social role theory, people in a society develop and maintain certain roles specific to both genders. The reasons for this are mainly the cultural implications related to gender roles and the portrayal of gender roles in the media. These gender roles are often misperceptions and false portrayals of reality (Allport, 1954; cited in Eckes, et al, 2000). As a result, gender stereotypes are formed and any behaviour out of line with the gender specific expected behaviour is met with criticism (Eckes, et al; 2000). Drawing from the theoretical framework and some studies highlighted in the introductory section, the detailed review of relevant literature will be based on the following: Television, its history, influence and importance Women, their nature, characteristics and expectations Societal values, norms, cultural bias Stereotypes, preconceptions, conformity and the public image of female TV anchors The western world and its far reaching influence Case study of actual events relating to this thesis RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Exploratory research is pursued where a diagnosis is needed; it results in a theoretical explanation of the phenomena under study (Zikmund, 2002). In the current study, the aim is to identify the common barriers in the career of women as anchorpersons in Nigeria; therefore the current study will be an exploratory one, attempting to explore all possible barriers. 1.1 Research design Mixed research design has been chosen for the study. Mixed research method combines both quantitative and qualitative research methods (Azorin & Cameron, 2010). This method has been chosen because it will enable the researcher explore the barriers in-depth (qualitative) as well as to obtain a general public opinion regarding the barriers (Quantitative). 3.2 Sample The regions of Ondo and Lagos have been chosen to draw the sample from. The underlying rationale is that Lagos is the most populated city in Nigeria and contains the highest number of television stations while Ondo enjoys the history of being the region where television was first introduced in Nigeria. Data for the qualitative part of this study will be drawn from a certain class of the population, namely men and women belonging to the TV sector, therefore purposive sampling appears to be the best option (Teddlie & Yu, 2007). According to Creswell (2005) the main advantage of purposive sampling is that it enables the researcher to select the best-suited participants for the research. The researcher will conduct in-depth interviews with the following category of women and men working in television to have a robust data for comparative analysis: Retired married anchor women Active married anchor women Single anchor women Men occupying positions of authority within the television station. The women will cover the age bracket between 18yrs – 75yrs. The purpose of including all of the above participants in the study is to ensure maximum variability and representation in the sample (Teddlie & Yu, 2007). The questionnaire will be administered to individuals from any field of life, belonging to any age group, using convenience sampling, to measure the effects of public perception and the extent of its influence on women working in the media. Research Instruments/ Techniques The qualitative part of the study will be based on semi-structured exploratory interviews while the quantitative data will be collected using a structured questionnaire, containing five to six structured questions with yes/no option, investigating the public opinion on certain factors as professional barriers for female anchor persons in Nigeria. Data Analysis Data analysis of the qualitative data will be done via content analysis, whereas simple descriptive statistics will be used to analyse the quantitative data from the questionnaires. The data will be presented with help of bar charts, pie charts and tables, and conclusions will then be drawn. Ethical considerations The topic of this study is not emotionally damaging and the participants will be ensured that the research will not have a negative impact on them in any way. However, they will be given the right to cancel their participation at any point during the research. Their personal data will also be kept confidential and anonymous at all costs. Limitations of the Study This project is purely academic and is being funded by the researcher. As a result of financial constraints, the researcher will not be able to interview anchor women in other states and will be only restricted to Lagos state and Ibadan in Ondo state. Operational Definitions Career Barriers – events and situations that prevent the person from advancing his/her career. Female experiences – Experiences that are only exclusive to females, such as motherhood. Gender – refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women. Sex – the biological and physiological characteristics that define a man and a woman (World Health Organization). Sexism – Sexism or sexual discrimination is prejudice against gender or sex (Merriam-Webster, 2011). TV News Anchor – Television news hosts that represent the working women in the study. References Agnes, A & Ijeoma, N. (2010). Status of women in Nigerian broadcast media. Nigeria Films. [Online]. Available at: http://www.nigeriafilms.com/news/7974/20/status-of-women-in-nigerian-broadcast-media.html [Accessed May 13th, 2011]. Asiyanbola, A.R. (2005). Patriarchy, male dominance, the role of women empowerment in Nigeria. International Union for the Scientific study of Population (IUSSP/UIESP) XXV International Population Conference Tours, France, 18-23. [Online]. Available at: http://iussp2005.princeton.edu/download.aspx?submissionId=50005 [Accessed: May 13th, 2011]. Azorin, J.M & Camron, R. (2010). The applications of mixed methods in organizational research: A literature review. Electronic journal of business research methods, 8(2): 95-105. Bal, J. (1993). Providing appearance related sex discrimination on media news: a disparate image theory. [Online]. Available at: http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/uchclf1993&div=14&id=&page= [Accessed: may 13th, 2011]. Bradshaw, K. A. (2009). Local news anchors’ contribution to news task. Electronic News. 3(2), 61-79. Charles, U. C. (1989). The advent and growth of television broadcasting in Nigeria: Its political and educational overtones. Africa media review. 3(2), 54-66. Creswell, J. W. (2005). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Sage. Eckes, T & Trautner, H.M. (2000). The developmental social psychology of gender. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Engstrom, E. E. & Ferri, A. J.(1998) “From Barriers to Challenges: Career Perceptions of Women TV News Anchors,”Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 75, 4, pp.789-802. Engstorm, E.E & Ferri, A. (2000). Looking through a gendered lens: Local US television news anchors’ perceived career barriers. (Abstract). [Online]. Available at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/70451815.html [Accessed: may 13th, 2011]. Guardian. (2011). Who are you calling past it? (Online). Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/feb/05/older-women-tv-radio-miriam-oreilly [Accessed: may 13th, 2011]. Nelson, T. (2004). Stereotyping and prejudice against older people. Massachusetts: Bradford book. Poindexter, P; Meraz, S & Weiss, A.S. (2008). Women, men and news: Divided and disconnected in the news media landscape. New York: Rout-ledge. Teddlie, C & Yu, F. (2007). Mixed Methods Sampling: A typology with examples. Journal of mixed methods research, 1(77): 77-100. Zikmund, W. G. (2002). Business research methods. Suison City, CA: South western publishers. Read More