Women's Voices, Powering Change Project

The focal point of the project's work will be a global network of collaborators who will address and respond to pressing questions related to women in the media. The project seeks to address the following issues: "How can we best develop and support new women leaders in the information, media, and technology sectors? How can we improve the safety and security of women in the media and information environments? How can we inspire quality coverage of women's and girls' voices and issues worldwide? How can we build a movement for women’s leadership that produces change at the local levels?"

Many of the women Internews works with and supports operate in isolated contexts. This new network and online platform is designed to help facilitate relationships with colleagues around the globe, as well as provide professional development opportunities, ongoing support, and mentorship. The platform is intended to act as a global community resource centre, allowing members to communicate safely, share their work, participate in training opportunities, and access a repository of information and resources on issues and stories related to women and girls.

Key approaches include the following:

• engage civil society organisations, such as women's groups, to serve as a technical resource for local media and advocate for ongoing inclusion efforts, as well as seek champions among men who are committed to greater gender equality;
• expand existing training programmes around ICTs with women and girls, build tools to ensure they can access the internet safely, and expand training on digital safety and security for women and girls; and
• use Internews' proven research methodologies, based on human-centred design and a comprehensive understanding of the information ecosystem, to focus on the needs of women leaders working in the media and information industries.

Internews has set a goal to increase the number of women leaders they currently work with (33% of total), raising that percentage each year until this is 50%. To do this, the project will include providing both in-person and virtual training for women leaders on topics that range from basic journalism and storytelling skills, data journalism, revenue generation, leadership skills, and digital media strategies. Other strategies will include support for internships for young women and adolescent girls who are interested in entering the media and ICT fields, advocacy for gender equity in professional development opportunities, and, where local information and labour laws restrict the rights of women, advocate for legal changes.

Women, Gender, Media

The project website offers the following data around women in the media, among other statistics:

• "Worldwide, only 27% of the top management jobs in the media sector are occupied by women. Among reporters, 36% of the jobs are held by women."
• "Globally, women hold just one third of full-time media positions, and even fewer work in ICT and media management positions."
• "Only 21% of women in the developing world have access to the Internet."
• "Only 24% of the people we read or hear about in print, radio, or television news stories are women or girls, while even fewer are showcased in online news media sources."
• "Just 13% of all news stories globally specifically focus on women or girls."
• "A full 80% of the “experts” interviewed by the news media are men."