Around the world, women hold far fewer media leadership roles than men. In fact, an average of just one in four top leadership roles are held by women.
Being the only woman in the room can feel like both an achievement and a warning. It signals that a barrier has been broken but also that the door is far from fully open. One seat at the table does not equal equality. It can be tokenism in disguise: a sign of progress that is fragile, reversible and too often used as proof that enough has been done.
The problem with tokenism is that it creates the illusion of change without altering the underlying structures.
At WAN-IFRA Women in News (WIN), we know representation matters. But we also know it is not enough. Our goal is not for women to be there as rare exceptions, but as part of balanced, sustainable leadership teams where others are prepared and positioned to follow.
WIN’s 2024 Leadership Mapping Report found that women hold 24% of business and editorial leadership roles across 19 markets. This is a marginal improvement. In our previous research in 2022, we found women held 21% of these roles. Editorial leadership has plateaued at around 30%, while business leadership – the level that controls strategy and resources – remains below 20%.
The patterns are similar elsewhere. The Reuters Institute’s 2024 study of 240 news outlets in 12 countries also found that 24% of top editors are women. In that same year, 50 organisations changed their editorial leadership, yet only seven replaced a man with a woman. Most transitions maintained the status quo, showing how rare it still is for leadership changes to open doors for new women leaders.
These numbers remind us that without deliberate action, even modest gains can stagnate or reverse.
Leadership shapes content – and trust
Yet, leadership is not just about titles. It shapes newsroom priorities, editorial tone and the lens through which stories are told. WIN has a free-to-use tool that helps newsrooms track gender balance in their content. Our tool has shown that media outlets led by women are more likely to produce more inclusive and representative journalism.
This isn’t about women leaders being inherently different – it’s about broadening decision-making to include perspectives shaped by diverse experiences. When those perspectives inform editorial choices, the result is more accurate, relevant and nuanced reporting.
Audiences notice this. Inclusive content builds trust because it reflects the full diversity of society. When women’s voices, experiences and expertise appear consistently in the news, audiences see themselves represented. And when coverage is fair and balanced across gender lines, the credibility of the newsroom as a whole grows.
In a time when trust in media is under strain, this is not just good ethics – it’s good business.
Safety as a baseline
Representation without safety is meaningless. No leader can thrive or inspire others to follow in an environment where harassment goes unchecked.
WIN’s multi-country research on sexual harassment in newsrooms found that 41% of women journalists have experienced verbal or physical harassment. Yet, 80% of these cases go unreported, most often because of a fear of retaliation, career damage or the absence of a clear reporting mechanism. Only 11% of respondents even knew if their organisation had a harassment policy.
Addressing harassment is not an optional add-on to diversity work. It is a prerequisite for retaining talent and building inclusive cultures. This year, WIN is conducting a 2025 follow-up study to assess whether increased awareness and policy adoption over the past five years have translated into real change. The results will guide the next stage of interventions, ensuring safety is treated as a strategic priority, not a compliance box to tick.
From isolation to networks of influence
For women who reach senior positions, the journey can be isolating. Being the ‘only’ means working without peers who share your experiences, and without a built-in support network for advice, advocacy and collaboration.
This makes strategic peer networks critical. In early 2025, WIN launched the WIN Guild – a network of senior women editors and publishers from Africa, the Arab Region and Southeast Asia. The Guild aims to transform individual influence into collective power.
When the first 19 members met in Malawi in February, they focused on turning shared challenges into co-ordinated action. Members left with concrete plans to implement structured mentorship programmes in their newsrooms, to formalise succession planning, and to adapt successful models from their peers to their organisational contexts.
The Guild’s leadership pledge
Ahead of International Women’s Day 2025, the Guild launched its Leadership Pledge – a public commitment to measurable change on gender equality. Each member pledged to:
- Mentor at least two women within their organisation.
- Create a succession plan to ensure women are positioned for top roles.
- Use their influence to challenge bias, close pay gaps, stop harassment and ensure safer working environments.
As part of delivering on this pledge, Guild members are now actively developing structured mentorship programmes within their organisations. They are drawing on the experiences of already existing initiatives created by some Guild members in their newsrooms – using these as working models to design programmes tailored to their contexts. The goal is to have these mentorship systems fully operational by the end of the year, ensuring that the next generation of women leaders is supported, visible and ready to step into senior roles.
The pledge is also a challenge to peers: join us or explain why not. Later this year, a second cohort will join the Guild, expanding the network’s reach and deepening its ability to shift newsroom cultures from the inside out.
Making change last
Breaking the ‘only woman’ cycle requires more than simply placing women in leadership. It demands systems that make gender equality a permanent feature of the organisation.
Mentorship, sponsorship and coaching are vital here. WIN has found this to be incredibly useful over the past 15 years of running the Leadership Accelerator, a structured and intensive mentorship and coaching programme. Mentorship provides guidance and skills, while sponsorship actively advocates for women’s advancement.
Coaching helps unlock a person’s potential, guiding them in developing their own solutions. Together, they ensure that mid-level women are not invisible to decision-makers but are prepared and supported to step into leadership roles when opportunities arise.
Succession planning is equally critical. Without it, leadership changes often revert to the male majority. By embedding succession into organisational strategy, women’s leadership becomes a constant, not a temporary exception.
These measures are not just about diversity – they are about organisational resilience. Newsrooms with diverse leadership are better equipped to understand and serve their audiences, adapt to change, and maintain credibility in a competitive media landscape.
Beyond the single seat
The ‘only woman in the room’ should be a temporary reality in any newsroom’s history – a marker of progress in motion, not its endpoint. True equality will be reached when leadership teams reflect the societies they serve; when women leaders are supported by networks of peers; when succession planning takes women into account; and when newsrooms are safe, equitable and inclusive by default.
Tokenism can be dismantled. Representation can be secured. And with deliberate, sustained action, walking into the room and seeing many women at the table – each bringing their voice, vision and authority – will no longer be remarkable. It will be normal.
Farah Wael is the director of advocacy and engagement at WAN-IFRA WIN, leading global campaigns, the SIRI grants programme, the gender balance tracker, and strategic initiatives advancing gender equality, and inclusive leadership in media across three regions.
CLICK ON THE COVER TO READ WOMEN IN THE MEDIA 2025
