A new study by the NGO Women in Media, “The Situation of Women Journalists and Other Women Media Workers in Ukraine (as of early 2026)”, shows that women journalists are working under conditions of chronic overload during the war, combining professional responsibilities with economic instability, online attacks, and unpaid care work.
The study involved 218 women media professionals working across different segments of the media sector — from national and regional newsrooms to independent media projects. The survey was complemented by 10 semi-structured in-depth interviews. The data is also compared with the results of a similar study conducted in 2022, allowing for an analysis of changes over time.
The study is structured as a comprehensive analytical document and includes a foreword by the Government Commissioner for Gender Policy, an executive summary, key findings, recommendations, and methodology. The main body consists of five thematic sections covering psychological well-being, financial (in)stability, gender-related challenges in the workplace, work-life balance, as well as perceptions of safety and future outlook.
The study was authored by Liza Kuzmenko, Head of the NGO Women in Media and member of the Commission on Journalistic Ethics, and Olha Bilousenko, media researcher and external research coordinator at Lviv Media Forum.
“These results are an important signal for public policy. They indicate the need to support the media sector systemically, with regard to the gender aspect. Among other things, this includes stronger mechanisms to protect women journalists against violence, development of psychological assistance programs, integrating the gender-sensitive approach into media development policies, and ensuring equal and safe working conditions. I strongly believe that such studies should serve as guidelines for decision-making, both at the government level and at the level of professional communities and international support. I am thankful to the team of Women in Media NGO for their thorough work and consistent advocacy for gender equality in Ukrainian media“, – said Kateryna Levchenko, Government Commissioner for Gender Policy.
Key Findings
- Women make up a significant part of the media community, mostly working full-time. About 78% of the respondents work in the media full-time, while 12% work as freelancers and 8% work part-time. Formal employment, however, does not necessarily guarantee economic stability.
- The financial situation of women in the media is deteriorating. In comparison with 2022, 2026 sees a reduced percentage of those who can afford basic needs and savings, while the numbers of women who make enough money only for food or not even that are growing.
- Overworking has become the norm. The absolute majority of respondents, 78%, indicate that the workload has increased, while only 6% report its reduction. The growing workload is linked to the staff shortages and structural instability of the media sector, leading to a permanent overwork mode. This leads to overwhelming fatigue among women in the media, who often have to perform care work at home in addition to their professional duties.
- Professional work is often accompanied by a large amount of unpaid care work. More than half of survey respondents spend a significant amount of time caring for children or other family members. Namely, 38% of respondents indicated they spend 3–4 hours a day on care work, 20% spend 5 to 8 hours, and 3% spend over 9 hours a day on care work. This creates additional workload, leading to the so-called “double burden,” a term characterizing women having to perform both professional duties and care responsibilities.
- Work-life balance policies are absent or only partially implemented in most newsrooms. Only 26% of respondents confirm their existence, 23% report partial implementation, while 42% indicate there are no such policies in their newsrooms.
- Experiences of threats and aggression remain widespread. Although 57% of respondents report having never faced threats, about 43% report encountering various forms of aggression or threats, especially in the online environment. Such attacks are often gender-based and aim at discrediting women journalists.
- Vulnerability is multidimensional. Almost half the respondents (about 48%) identify as representatives of one or multiple vulnerable groups. These most commonly are internally displaced women (20%), military partners or spouses (17%) and single mothers (11%). This suggests that professional challenges are often exacerbated by other social and economic risks.
- Women have a distinctly systemic demand for support. The most sought-after forms of assistance include improving the financial situation (96%), psychological support (69%), technical support (44%), insurance (41%), and safety training (32%). The high interest in training on AI-related risks, digital security, and physical safety indicates that women journalists are aware of new professional threats and are ready to adapt to these challenges. It should be noted that each respondent could choose multiple options.
- The combination of these requests indicates that the needs of women journalists go beyond short-term or ad hoc assistance. They demonstrate the need for comprehensive and long-term support for women in the media as a professional group working in conditions of protracted war and facing increased professional risks, economic instability, psychological strain, and unpaid care work simultaneously.
Recommendations
The research findings indicate that women in the Ukrainian media face systemic and long-term challenges. Thus, response to them should be not isolated but rather structural, aimed at improving working conditions and economic security and creating sustainable protection mechanisms.
In view of this, we have developed recommendations for various groups of stakeholders: newsrooms, media organizations, and international partners supporting Ukrainian media.
Read the full report in English.
This study was carried out by the Women in Media NGO as part of the Voices of Ukraine support program coordinated by the European Center for Press and Media Freedom. The program is implemented as part of the Hannah Arendt Initiative and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The views and findings in this study belong solely to its authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the organizations that supported its production.