Portrayal of Women in Kenya's Print Media: a Study of Daily Nation, the Standard, and Kenya Times, June 2002 to June 2003
Problem Portrayal of women in Kenya"s print media is replete with stereotype images that portray women only in their domestic roles at the expense of their roles in national development. This study is aimed at determining the extent o f this negative portrayal and the likely explanatory reasons. Method Content analysis of newspaper articles of a sample of three major dailies Daily Nation, The Standard, and Kenya Times was carried out for issues between June 2002 and June 2003. A total of 144 issues were identified, coded, and analyzed. Results Women and women"s issues are allocated less space and portrayed more negatively compared to their male counterparts in all the three dailies. However, women journalists tend to portray women more positively. Conclusions Factors contributing towards marginalization of women and women"s issues include the patriarchal values in Kenyan society, a small number of women professionals in the media industry, and the fact that media industry is largely male owned and dominated. The situation can be corrected only by conscious efforts by all stakeholders.