Today, on 8th March, we commemorate women and their fight to improve working, educational and social conditions, and also for breaking the patriarchal dynamics that permeate all spheres of life in order to achieve equal rights.
We women have been working —both paid and unpaid— to transform the dynamics of power in a world that is unjust, unequal and in conflict. The conditions of women journalists, communicators, and media workers continue to be precarious, which represents another form of structural violence. There is no job security or guarantees for those who work in countries where the right to freedom of expression is endangered, nor for those who practice journalism with a gender perspective. This issue negatively impacts women journalists, communicators, feminists, and women’s rights defenders, including freelancers and founders of new media.
When economic and political crises impact the media, women media workers and civil society organizations, it is women who are doubled affected, but they are also the firsts that support the battles and speak out.
As women journalists, members of the International Network of Journalists with a Gender Perspective (RIPVG by its acronym in Spanish) we call on States and governments to invest in the substantive equality of women. Under no circumstances should it be admissible to limit or obstruct gender policies, or reproduce discriminatory and racist discourse, nor suppress regulations that protect women journalists, communicators and media workers. On the contrary, it is imperative to guarantee the rights of freedom of expression, freedom of press, and the right of society to receive plural, diverse information with gender and human rights perspective.