National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting and the NGO Women in Media have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation. The document establishes a partnership to advance gender equality, inclusion, respect for human rights, and non-discriminatory content in Ukrainian media.
Under the Memorandum, the National Council and Women in Media will focus on joint research, training programs, awareness campaigns, and monitoring. The main emphasis is on promoting diversity and equal opportunities in the media, countering hate speech and sexism, and strengthening ethical standards in covering sensitive topics — from the rights of women and children to issues concerning LGBTIQ+ people, veterans, persons with disabilities, and internally displaced people.
Joint initiatives already underway
The National Council and Women in Media have a long history of cooperation, which includes a number of important initiatives:
- Gender Profile of Ukrainian Media — an annual nationwide study of equality and inclusion in newsrooms, launched in 2023.
- Webinars for newsrooms: in 2025, the webinar “Artificial Intelligence in the Work of Media” gathered over 250 journalists, focusing on OSINT tools, AI policies, and protection against online attacks; in 2024, “Breaking the Cycle: How to Cover Domestic Violence Without Stereotypes” was held as part of the international campaign “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.”
Media literacy working group: Women in Media joined the group under the National Council, contributing to the development of a survey and evaluation criteria for the media literacy of journalists, with specific attention to gender equality and inclusion. - Roundtable on advertising without gender stereotypes at the National Council, where monitoring results of TV channels were presented.
- Recommendations for children’s media content — a practical guide on how to avoid harmful stereotypes and cover sensitive topics without retraumatization.
The significance of the Memorandum
According to the Chair of the National Council, Olha Herasymiuk, the Memorandum creates a framework for systematic cooperation between the state regulator and civil society:
“The National Council has long and respectfully cooperated with Women in Media — we already share many important initiatives and studies. Together, we managed to move forward in the media space on issues of gender balance, equality, and non-discrimination, and to conduct important research to better understand the Ukrainian media sector. The results of our joint work have already been presented within cooperation with UNESCO. It is important that internationally, our work is already recognized and attracts significant interest.
Signing the Memorandum is a logical continuation of this partnership, which now has a clear framework for systematic cooperation between the regulator and civil society.”
The Head of Women in Media, Liza Kuzmenko, emphasized that the partnership enables not only identifying challenges but also offering practical solutions:
“We combine the expertise of a civil society organization and a media regulator to provide newsrooms with concrete tools — from equality policies to response algorithms for online attacks. This helps transform approaches in real time. Gender balance and combating discrimination in media are not only matters of fairness but also of trust in journalism and societal resilience, especially during wartime.”
Both parties underlined that the cooperation does not create financial or legal obligations, but defines shared priorities and directions of work aimed at shaping an inclusive media sphere in Ukraine.
It should be recalled that the Law of Ukraine “On Media” identifies ensuring gender equality in media and protecting citizens from discrimination, including on the grounds of sex, as one of the main tasks of the National Council. This direction is also enshrined in the Regulator’s Strategy for 2024–2026, which dedicates a specific strategic goal to gender balance. The focus is not only on analyzing the real state of equality in newsrooms but also on developing analytics, conducting awareness-raising activities, and working with media outlets to ensure they understand: gender sensitivity is not a formality, but a prerequisite for high-quality and responsible journalism.