Leadership Inclusion of female journalists in broadcasting organisation in Lao PDR

Leadership Inclusion of female journalists in broadcasting organisation in Lao PDR

By Vienglaty Ketsattha,

Senior News Reporter, News Department, Lao National Television, Lao P.D.R.

Email: vienglaty79@gmail.com

March 2023

Abstract

Media always acts as a voice of public reflecting inequality in all aspects in society. However, some female media workers themselves have yet fully included in their workplace. Many of them still face discrimination at different levels and in various forms. This paper introduces situation of female journalists in broadcasting organisation in Lao PDR from general circumstance to specific issues of women journalist characteristic, family support, peer encouragement, and organizational support to their professional development. The inquiry was distributed to 60 people who are engaged in this profession both men and women age from 20 to over 50 years old including interviews of some key persons in this industry both state and private sectors. The outcome interestingly shows that majority of women’s journalists have appropriate leadership qualification, but few of them got support from family including parents and spouses. This is the main reason preventing their advancement in their workplace. It is especially hard when they got pregnancy and become new mother taking care of young children along with pressure from journalistic work. These women working as public voice also need understanding from their families and realistic support from their workplace by transforming the government’s policy, action plan and convention ratification into practice. Some successful female journalists revealed that they are fortunate to gain family support and develop their own strength to climb up to leading positions. Thus, they want to share their fortunate and opportunities to other women in the same and different professions. This process might need transition of cultural norm that women should only concentrate on taking care of families rather than taking care of their own development and organisational administration. Besides that, the organization should provide equal opportunities for women to build up their professional knowledge and experience as well as leadership nomination to include innovation of people of diverse sexes. This will lead to a sustainable development of the organization and society as a whole.