The Minister for the Ministry of Information And Communications, Mohamed Rahman Swarray, has launched the Canadian government-funded policy brief and the 2023 media gender scorecard on media coverage of women in politics in Sierra Leone at the Atlantic hotel in Freetown.

The event whose central focus was on ‘’ Strengthening the political participation of women in Sierra Leone through media monitoring of gender-sensitive reporting’’ was designed and hosted by the Initiative for Media Development (IMdev).

The engagement hosted the Canadian Honorary Consul in Sierra Leone, Kofie Macauley.

The policy which is based on strengthening the political participation of women in Sierra Leone through media monitoring of sensitive reporting will be a great way towards women’s involvement ahead of the 2023 elections.

The Executive Director of Initiative for Media Development (IMdev), Yeama Thompson in her statement, rolled out the key policy recommendation to include; Conducting a broad advocacy campaign in the media based on the evidence obtained in the 2023 Media Gender scorecard and 2018 Media Gender Scorecard; Develop a gender equality policy or charter for the media and build a strong partnership with the sectorial ministries.

That the Electoral Commission Sierra Leone (ECSL) and other elections bodies should ensure that voter education captures the global quest for gender parity; female political candidates should engage the media more often to not only build their confidence but increase their visibility and prospects for winning their elections, amongst others.