On September 17 in Budapest, Hungary, the UNCOVERED Conference 2026 will host the workshop “What It Costs: An Open Table on Gender and Investigation,” focusing on the challenges faced by women in investigative journalism and practical solutions that help them stay in the profession.
Investigative work takes a toll. For women in the field, that toll has its own shape: threats, burnout, barriers to sources and leadership, and the quiet cost of staying in the story. These challenges often remain outside the public conversation.
This working session puts gender and investigation on the table, alongside the practical fixes that keep women in the field.
The idea is to move from problem to solution. In the first half of the session, Ukrainian investigative journalists will share what that toll has looked like for them, discuss the challenges they have faced, and talk about the practices that actually helped them overcome those challenges.
Then the floor opens. For 30 minutes, all conference participants will be invited to join the conversation: they can name a current challenge, share a solution that worked in their own practice, or ask colleagues for feedback.
Speakers:
- Anna Myroniuk — Investigative Journalist, Editor, Freelance.
- Svitlana Stetsenko — Journalist, Bihus.Info.
- Olesia Bida — Journalist, War Crimes Investigations Unit, The Kyiv Independent.
Moderator: Olha Syrotiuk, Programme Coordinator, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF).
More information about the conference programme is available here. The event will be held in English. After the workshop, Women in Media (Ukraine) will prepare a follow-up article featuring the key points and conclusions of the discussion.
The event takes place as part of the “Women Leaders in Investigative Journalism — Ukrainian-European Support Programme,” implemented by Women in Media (Ukraine) in cooperation with the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), with the support of the German Federal Foreign Office.
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