Gleaning Insights From the Opportunities and Challenges Female Broadcasters’ Work Present in Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

This study explores aspects of broadcasting and how they impact female broadcasters and their families in Southwestern Nigeria. The investigation not only focused on the opportunities that broadcasting presents for female broadcasters and their families but also highlighted the issues and challenges female broadcasters encounter within their work and familial contexts and those their families faced concerning the women’s workday. The study also gleaned insight from participants’ experiences, meaning-making and learning from the opportunities and challenges associated with the female broadcasters’ workday. Using the narrative research design that employed the phenomenological approach, 18 participants were purposively sampled in Oyo and Ogun States. From the Television Section of The Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS) and Ogun State Television (OGTV), three female broadcasters were selected each using a purposive sampling technique while the husband and a child of each woman were selected using snowballing sampling. Data collection was done using interview guides while data collected were analysed using phenomenological analysis. The results showed that personal, professional and/or collective benefits were accrued from the women’s work. There were also the challenges participants had with each other in relation to the women’s workday including spousal and cultural demands, occupational and safety issues. Furthermore, some of the participants’ experiences resulted in learning. Thus, it was concluded that in acknowledging the benefits derived from female broadcasters’ work and despite the challenges it posed to participants, significant learning experiences were fostered to navigate through the peculiarities of the women’s work and their family dynamics.