JOURNALISTS here have been encouraged to widely use data when reporting on gender and women leadership issues as one of the measures to promote equality.

"Data journalism is important in achieving our goal to empower women and increase their number in leadership positions," Dr Mzuri Issa Ali- Director, Tanzania Media Women Association (TAMWA)- Zanzibar said when inaugurating the jury for the 2023 'Data Journalism Awards."

She mentioned that for the second year, TAMWA- Zanzibar has organised a 'Data Journalism Award' to recognise outstanding reporting in gender and women leadership using statistics in Zanzibar.

Ms Mzuri explained that judges or members of the jury, comprising experts and academics in journalism have been selected and they have started to screen more than 200 entries for the data journalism awards.

"This is the second annual Data Journalism Awards (DJA), a competition established by the Tanzania Media Women Association (TAMWA)- Zanzibar last year. The jury will work on entries from newspapers, radio, television and social media and select the best journalists," Dr Mzuri said.

She said that the process of promoting data journalism started last year by training some journalists about data use, as well as announcing the award so that more journalists can participate. The deadline for submission was December 31, last year," Ms Ali said.

She explained that the criteria include articles focusing on relevant topics, multiple sources in reporting gender and women leadership, using statistics "This is a professional work, we ask the judges to observe ethics."

TAMWA-Zanzibar communication Mr Mohamed Khamis said this year's Award is implemented under the theme "My Pen, my contribution to women development and that this is among strategies to achieve gender equality in the near future.

Mr Khamis said "If you tell your story about women leadership with statistics, it helps the group and the government in understanding the real situation for action as we struggle to promote gender equality. I urge journalists to continue using data because there is still a visible gap in use statistics in news stories.

He said TAMWA- Zanzibar is working with Zanzibar Female Lawyers Association (ZAFELA) and Pemba Environment, Gender and Advocacy Organisation (PEGAO) to advocate for the rights of women using data journalism with support from the Norwegian Embassy in Tanzania.