Chairman, chairwoman, chairperson or chair? Housewife or homemaker? What is so controversial about contraception, the word 'family' or 'sex worker'? Does being gender-sensitive in news mean hiding the genders and sexes of people who appear in them?
Inter Press Service announces a third edition of the "Gender and Development Glossary" to offer journalists and writers a guide for picking their way through the sometimes tricky terrain of gender, media and development, and the use of gender-related terms and language in media. Published by IPS Asia, its glossary section takes users through the meaning and nuances of 141 key terms in gender and development, many of them updated from the gender and media discussions over the last decade and useful in covering these issues.
The glossary is the latest in a series of new publications about gender that help reporters and news managers grapple with the challenge of writing about gender issues in a way that does not perpetuate stereotypes but informs and encourages public debate.
IPS Africa launched the "Reporting Gender Based Violence" handbook for reporters, to coincide with the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence campaign in November 2009. The publication covers religious and harmful traditional practices, domestic violence, sexual and gender-based violence, femicide, sex work and trafficking, sexual harassment, armed conflicts, HIV and AIDS, child abuse, the role of men, the criminal justice system, and the costs of gender-based violence.
IPS Latin America launched the "Gender Relations in Productive and Reproductive Work" handbook on reporting women's employment, at a workshop in Lima, Peru on 26 November 2009. This manual focuses on how journalists and the media portray the unequal conditions faced by women in the labour market, highlighting all the stereotypes that have contributed to perpetuate gender inequalities.
IPS has long sought to support and strengthen informed reporting on gender across the world.
In 2009 IPS launched "Communicating for Change: Getting Voice, Visibility and Impact for Gender Equality", with support from the Dutch MDG3 Fund, and embarked on an ambitious programme to promote the voice and visibility of women. IPS activities included hosting capacity building workshops, the creation of journalism tools and the production editorial content to raise awareness about the third Millennium Development Goal (MDG) priorities aimed at reducing violence against women, enhancing women's economic independence and increasing participation and representation of women in politics and
public administration.
Visit the IPS MDG3 website to download copies of these publications, and to
access other gender related resources, http://www.ips.org/mdg3/publications/.
Read the latest stories on the IPS Gender Wire.
For more information about the IPS MDG3 project or to join the Gender Wire
mailing list, contact mdg3@ips.org.
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