Building a space for African women in media
For more than a decade, African Women in Media (AWiM) has positioned itself as a vital platform addressing these systemic barriers. Through research, convening, advocacy, and policy engagement, the organisation has built a community-driven movement focused on transforming the media ecosystem for women journalists across the continent. Dr Akinbobola explained that AWiM began as a Facebook group in 2016 to create a space for women journalists to share experiences, noting that at the time, there was no specific network for women in media.
“It started from that desire for a space where women in media could meet, support each other, and network. I remember the first motto that we had for the group was ‘Be visible to inspire’, because I recognise the product of sharing your story, as it inspires people coming behind you. Because it’s important that we recognise our experiences as happening as gendered, because that allows us to take the necessary actions, whether individually or collectively, within our organisations, to be more aware of these experiences.”
For the first few years, AWiM functioned mainly as an annual conference. Then the pandemic hit—and with it came an intensified need to understand the gendered impact on women journalists. AWiM conducted research on how COVID-19 affected women journalists in East Africa, documenting issues such as disproportionate layoffs and forced early maternity leave. This research laid the groundwork for new training programmes designed to equip journalists with practical skills, including translating scientific information for everyday audiences.
As AWiM expanded, it began integrating training with editorial opportunities through gender journalism fellowships. The aim was to ensure that women could apply new skills immediately, supported by a network of more than 35 media partners worldwide. Many participants published stories internationally, gaining visibility they had never previously been afforded. For some, the fellowship became the first formal training they had ever completed.
AWiM team
A Landmark Achievement: The Kigali Declaration
When reflecting on AWiM’s biggest achievements so far, Dr. Akinbobola pointed to the Kigali Declaration on the Elimination of Gender Violence in and through Media in Africa by 2034. She described it as a document that represents “many years of work that came together in one document co-designed by the community.”
The process began with earlier research conducted in Rwanda, which revealed that sexual harassment was a major concern for women journalists. That research, done in partnership with Fojo Media Institute, helped the local media industry establish an anti–sexual harassment committee and draft an industry-wide policy now signed by around 15 media organisations. From there, AWiM expanded its research across Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and Burkina Faso, examining both the violence women journalists face and how the media report on violence against women and girls.
All of this groundwork fed into the conference, where AWiM convened 15 experts to draft the declaration before more than 250 participants collectively reviewed and refined it. Today, over 116 media organisations have adopted the declaration, and with the recent ratification of the AU Convention to End Violence Against Women and Girls (AU-CEVAWG), AWiM’s work now sits at the intersection of regional policy and media accountability
“This is an opportunity for policy to meet action, and for us to hold both member states and the media accountable in meaningful ways,” Dr Akinbobola noted.
What women in African media are facing today
Dr Akinbobola highlighted structural and technological challenges:
“It cuts across so many areas: from sexual harassment, job stagnation, and gender pay gaps, to disparities in equal access related to family life and maternity, and those wider social expectations of women that shape the workplace. And, of course, that glass ceiling when it comes to leadership opportunities.”
She emphasised that pay gaps extend beyond salary: “Pay gap exists even in terms of the opportunity for you to do kind of stories or training that you need to progress to the next level… So you may be in the same position for a very long time.”
She added that new technologies are creating fresh layers of concern. Drawing on AWiM’s forthcoming report on AI in African newsrooms, she noted the rising anxiety around automation—particularly the trend of outlets adopting female AI presenters, which heightens existing insecurities. At the same time, women often take on what she described as “hidden labour,” pushing themselves to master AI tools without the institutional support, driven by the expectation that they must always overperform. The risks tied to deepfakes and online abuse, she warned, compound these pressures and further illustrate how technology intersects with gendered vulnerability in the newsroom.
She stressed that media institutions must ensure that there are processes in place for things like reporting sexual harassment and that there is genuine transparency around such mechanisms. The question, she argued, is whether media organisations are truly creating enabling environments and whether media development organisations are recognising “the agency that women journalists already exercise, and supporting them, as opposed to coming in with new ideas of how.”
AWiM 2025 Conference
Why listening matters: rethinking media development approaches
She urged organisations to listen and collaborate with local journalists rather than imposing top-down agendas.
“When it comes to media organisations, the first advice I would give is to listen — listen to the people that you want to work for and collaborate with them in whatever interventions… I think [media support] organisations should ask themselves: to what extent are we participatory and collaborating in our approach to addressing any area of gendered experiences of women in media? That is the central thing that should guide organisations.”
Highlighting the nuances of different contexts, she said: “There are shared experiences around the big issues, but there are nuances that we must pay attention to. For instance, ethnicity can emerge as an additional barrier for women in specific countries.”
Turning policy into action: AWiM25 theme and vision
The 2025 conference theme, “Beyond Commitment: Policies for Gender-Safe Media”, reflects AWiM’s focus on translating policy into meaningful action. “It’s one thing to sign a declaration or a policy – it’s another thing for it to go into action, meaningful action,” Dr Akinbobola said.
AWiM’s approach involves three levels — macro, meso, and micro — to ensure meaningful change:
“Because when we look at our work so far, we have worked very well at that micro level, that is, individual journalists’ empowerment. But actually, for commitments to happen, there needs to be a national dialog. National engagement at a ministerial level and national policy level. Meso means we’re looking at the industry, the ombudsmen, press councils… And then macro means the individuals working with the community-led activism… Any commitment or policy action needs to happen at those three levels for there to be meaningful change.”
To translate policy into action, AWiM created communities of practice before the conference, grouping participants around topics like AI, masculinity, and violence against women and girls. These groups are encouraged to take ownership of their work, identify synergies between the Kigali Declaration and the AU Convention, and map out their own actionable roadmaps.
Dr Akinbobola highlighted the emphasis on local ownership and practical support:
“Next year, we plan to have a lot more dialogue spaces, directly creating that synergy so that you, as a community of practice can have access to the resources that you need. That’s really how we’re beginning to shape that idea of translation of policy into action – being guided by our community a lot. If more media development organisations emulate that model, we’ll see much stronger impact, because now there’s local ownership by people.”
She added that the conference also addresses sustainability for media development ecosystems, especially in challenging funding environments: “We’re all on the same journey, and we shouldn’t be afraid to share best practices and create opportunities for each other through that journey.”