Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka graced the launch of "Who Makes the News", a global monitoring report that maps the representation of women and men in news media worldwide.
In her keynote address, Mlambo-Ngcuka said: "In spite of the numerous advances that we have made as a society, it is clear even from the results of the GMMP that high levels of inequality still prevail in our society.
"The South African media has a lot of introspection to do, [particularly] on the role it plays in building this nation and young democracy. The tendency for the media to think it is above all and it is a watchdog itself not being watched, is rather presumptuous."
South African women, who constitute 51% of the country's population - according to Statistics South Africa's 2004 figures - are overall underrepresented in the media with 26% compared to men with 74%. And the sad part of the saga is that most stories involving women are written or told in insensitive ways, highlighting the bizarre and trivialising women's experiences, according to the research. Women's rights activists and lobby groups are outraged by these discrepancies and accuse the South African media of being arrogant and failing to contextualise the facts.
The report also found that South Africa men dominate in the media as experts, with only 5% of women being used as experts. News categories of politics, government and science and health had no women as news subjects, crime and violence had 16 women as subjects, with five women as news subjects in the categories of celebrity, arts and sports.
As much as 99% of news stories do not highlight the issue of gender equality or inequality.
However, the publication of this report is unlikely to automatically change the media's attitudes. More practical strategies are definitely needed to challenge this sad state of affairs. Asked what is the way forward, Southern African Media and Gender Institute (SAMGI) Executive Director Judith Smith Vialva, said: "We will interact with tertiary institutions so that gender, diversity and human rights modules are included in the journalism course to give students skills to contextualise the issues better.
"Besides, ongoing dialogue with editors and media decision-makers must be undertaken to make them aware of the results of GMMP research in order to ensure that interns and journalists' reporting accurately reflect the society they live in and function."
