challenges women social groups face as they communicate social change

1. challenges women social groups face as they communicate social change
2. Introduction

Leaders of social movements often tell new stories to the public about themselves, other people going through challenges or unique situations, and concerning current issues. Because of their unique position to tell stories, they often self-communicate values and call others to action. The leaders communicate an urgent call to action for the values which they believe need to be acted upon immediately (Ganz, 2010). An endless number of women have engaged and taken the lead in social movements. Some have fought for the right to education, equal employment opportunities and pay, equal opportunities to take top management and leadership positions (site). Many such women have often faced retaliation because of gender and age, and opposition from other people, mostly their male counterparts who often seek to silence them by bullying and prejudice. Some of the women have even experienced violence because of leading or taking part in social movements in their efforts to communicate for social change. Some examples of female personalities who have taken the lead in social movement activities and faced a backlash for their actions are such as Greta Thunberg, an extremely popular climate change activist and Malala, a Pakistani girl who was shot in the head for openly defying the Taliban by speaking against denying girls the opportunity to be educated.

Many social movement initiatives have been taken by non-governmental and governmental organizations in the effort to change or improve lives, particularly for women and children who pass through different social challenges such as lack of social amenities, lack of education and food due to religious and cultural reasons, war and poverty among other underlying problems. What has not been thoroughly researched is whether or not these initiatives have been honest, or they have been organized efforts by these institutions to benefit or popularise their hidden agendas. Their communication for social development agendas has, therefore, not been evident. According to Enghel and Noske-Turner (2018) say that it is often unclear whether firms that engage in communication for social development with the intention of ‘doing good’ or for ‘looking good.’ This calls for careful observation or analysis of the real or practical challenges which can help ensure that social development projects are adequately designed and carried for a greater good. Similarly, Fernandes (2017) claims that today, many organizations and news media take part in what the researcher refers to as ‘Curated Storytelling,’ where organisations take part in a political narrative by prompting as well as deploying other people’s stories to build their support for secret causes. This curated storytelling also forms the basis for this research, which intends to find and analyse how people’s social movement actions have been taken advantage of by organisations, deploying these stories to build their support and for secrete causes. This research seeks to establish how media coverage among organisations which hardly comprehend the issues advocated for by social movements happen and how this impacts and leads to the failure of honest social development campaigns calling for action against social injustices against women and children.

1. a) Problem Statement

There is limited literature discussing the process and groups involved in social action, particularly in how they communicate social development, whether or not they engage in honest initiatives, or it is a show to build support, popularity, and profit. Additionally, there is limited research critically analysing the challenges that women social movement groups face as they communicate for social development. This research thus intends to shed some light on these issues.

1. b) Aim of the Study

This research aims to examine the process and groups involved in social action critically, and the challenges women social groups face as they communicate social change

1. c) Research Question
2. Do firms that engage in communication for development do it with the right intention for the good or their selfish interests?
3. Which challenges are faced by women leading social movements today in their campaign for social development?
4. What role do the media play in helping such girls attain their rights, such as the right to education?
5. d) The objective of the Study
6. To critically appraise whether or not organisations engage in social development campaigns for the right reasons or fore selfish interests
7. To critically evaluate the challenges faced by women leading social movements in today’s world.
8. To critically appraise the role of the media in helping women communicate the need for social development.

2. Literature Review

Literature by Kimball (2019) has demonstrated the role of the media in helping countries and societies to tackle social problems like preventing girls from attending basic education in war-torn areas. The Pakistani teenage girl, Malala, notably received extensive media coverage on her ordeal, being shot by the Taliban for her fight for girl education in the warring regions. Besides the media, literature has shown the many challenges which women and other social movements have faced in the past and today. For instance, Fernandes (site) claims that these groups have been coupled with different constraints, such as the lack of foundation backing. This author also says that some of the movements have been plagued by individuals or organisations which advance their hidden plans under the movements to resonate with a targeted audience in various ways. According to Horn (2013), organisations like the media can help raise the social movement’s agendas but are often too engaged in their coverage to understand the meaning of the groups.

3. Research Methodology

3.2 Research Design

A case study of how the media covers social movement activities will be done. Ten female social movement activists or leaders will be studied and how the media have covered them. The challenges they face will also be examined. Ten organizations, including governmental and non-governmental firms that have taken part in social development initiatives, will be examined.

3.3 Target Population and Sample Frame

Ten female leaders of social movement and ten organisations is a sample size that is neither too large nor too small and can be studied sufficiently. The study of this sample size will provide enough information related to the entire issues as they occur around the world.

3.4 Samples and Sampling Procedure

Participants will be chosen through random sampling to create an exhaustive participants’ list. A sample of participants in the study will be chosen by giving every an equal chance of being selected with the help of the table of random numbers, ensuring impartiality in selection.

3.5 Instrumentation

A structured questionnaire and interview questions will be used to collect information because they are easy to create, apply, and interpret.

3.6 Data Collection and Analysis

Three triangulated data gathering approaches, including self-reported questionnaires, companies’ documents, and in-depth interviews, will be used to collect data. The interview will involve the use of structured questions. A literature review of relevant peer-reviewed articles will also be done to get information about the topic. The collected data will be transcribed and coded to make sense of their content and how they develop the research topic.

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