Gendered Dynamics In Digital Media Entrepreneurship In Ghana: A Study Of The Experiences Of Digital Media Owners

Abstract

Existing research has documented gender imbalances in traditional media particularly with regard to leadership and ownership. The rise of digital media was deemed by scholars as the long-awaited answer to correcting the absence of women in media management and ownership, and through that correcting other fault lines such as stereotypical and limited coverage of women’s issues. In this study, I explore how the digital space is opening up media ownership and management to women and compare the unique opportunities and challenges they and their male colleagues face. The study was guided by feminist media and the Feminist Political Economy of the Media logic, and relied on in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of men and women who have ventured into digital media ownership by starting commercialised news websites and YouTube channels. Findings show that men and women have economic motives for venturing into digital media entrepreneurship. Women are further driven by lower entry costs in contrast to men who draw other inspiration from the flexibility digital media offers for managing multiple digital media platforms. Other findings include the fact that in managing their digital media enterprises, men draw support from strangers and friends who believed in the quality of their work while women draw support heavily from family and friends. Key words: Digital media, Entrepreneurship, Gender, Motivations and experiences, News websites, YouTube