Gender mainstreaming at the University of Botswana: a content analysis of UB newsletter

Abstract

The state of Botswana and the University of Botswana have made avowed commitments to gender equity. The former has done so by signing up for and implementing various protocols aimed at enforcing gender justice and the latter by mainstreaming gender in its various processes activities and operations. The main focus of this study is to find out if this commitment to gender mainstreaming is reflected in the University's house journal - UB Newsletter. This is because of the media's ability to influence the public agenda by focusing the audience attention on particular issues, thus guaranteeing the salience of such issues in the minds of audience members. The study universe was the content of the newsletter over a six year period - 2000 - 2005. Content categories were academic, non-academic/social, appointment, and interviews. The study examined physical units, involving examination of the space devoted to activities and achievements of members of staff. The findings indicated that male members of staff dominated in all the content categories in the editions of the publication analyzed, thus giving the erroneous impression that the University of Botswana is a man's world. Flowing from these findings, the study recommends that the Public Affairs Department engage in gender-aware reporting in order to redress the situation.