From May 24 to 26, Truskavets hosted one of the gatherings of the Women in Media community and NGO — a space for meaningful conversation, restoring strength, and finding inspiration. For three days, media professionals shared experiences, reflected on the challenges faced by women in journalism during wartime, and sought collective solutions. The meeting was facilitated by Iryna Eigelson and Yelyzaveta Koval.
Participants creatively described Women in Media using metaphorical cards: a feminist, cross-sectoral, powerful, and resilient community of support and action. It values care work, breaks stereotypes, unites diverse experiences, and amplifies the voices of Ukrainian women journalists on both national and international levels.
This time, the group included professionals with diverse backgrounds but shared values: Liza Kuzmenko, head of Women in Media and member of the Commission on Journalistic Ethics; Sasha Horchynska, NV journalist and project manager at Women in Media; Viktoria Yermolayeva, co-founder of Women in Media and editor-in-chief of Hromadske Radio; Olena Kushchenko, freelancer and journalist for the Women in Media website; Maria Frey, board member of Suspilne and active community member; Tetiana Avdeieva, media lawyer at Digital Security Lab and media consultant for Women in Media; and Nastya Horpinchenko, war correspondent and freelance journalist, also an active participant in the Women in Media community.
The group worked in small teams to determine the key challenges women journalists have faced in recent years. The top concerns are:
- Sexism and ageism in professional environments
- Financial discrimination and instability, especially for independent outlets and freelancers
- Emotional burnout, personal losses, and prolonged stress
- Invisible care work women must juggle alongside their careers
- Growing online attacks and self-censorship due to hate
- Challenges faced by displaced women journalists, and restrictions caused by war, occupation, and mobilization.
These challenges prompted the development of potential solutions. Participants proposed holding thematic meetups, especially for war correspondents, involving men as allies, and creating spaces for open dialogue on complex topics.
At the end of the event, media women outlined the core values shaping the community: self-belief, proactive thinking, courage to speak the truth, emotional sensitivity, active listening, persistence, a blend of tradition and modernity, and above all, mutual support and dismantling the myth of female rivalry.
This meeting was made possible with the support of the Dutch Foreign Ministry as part of the project “Strengthening the Resilience of Women Journalists in Ukraine: Combating Online Violence and Gendered Disinformation,” implemented by the Women in Media NGO. It was also supported by the media awareness project Be Her Voice, implemented by the Women in Media NGO in cooperation with NCRTB JSC, with expert support from the Ukrainian Women’s Fund.