On 15 December, a presentation of a joint document “Girls Just Wanna Have Voice: Strengthening Women’s Leadership in the Ukrainian Media” developed by participants of the “Women Leaders in Media — Ukraine-EU Support Programme” took place. The programme was organised by Women in Media NGO in cooperation with the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) and with the support of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany.
The policy paper outlines the key challenges faced by women in media and proposes possible solutions. The Head of Women in Media NGO, Liza Kuzmenko, noted that the programme participants represented media holdings, independent media, the public broadcaster, and regional newsrooms. This diversity made it possible to look at challenges and solutions from multiple perspectives.
Challenges
In the context of the full-scale war, Ukrainian women journalists face a wide range of challenges. They are often forced to take on the majority of unpaid care work, combine multiple roles, and work without adequate social protections.
“When we talk about women’s leadership and their development, we cannot consider them in the same isolated way as men, because women always carry a huge burden of care work,” says Mariya Frey, Member of the Management Board of Suspilne.
These challenges are compounded by the “glass ceiling,” online violence, and emotional labour in the workplace. As a result, many women experience exhaustion, burnout, health problems, and a desire to leave the profession.
At present, women constitute the majority of employees in Ukrainian media. However, this quantitative presence has not translated into qualitative equality of opportunities. The “glass ceiling” persists: women dominate among rank-and-file staff but are significantly underrepresented in leadership positions, especially in large media organisations. At the same time, they carry the heaviest workload in daily editorial work, particularly under conditions of full-scale war. This trend is confirmed by the Gender Profile of Ukrainian Media 2025, a study conducted by Women in Media NGO and the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine.
“The lack of sustainable funding, the reduction of grant programmes, and a weak advertising market push media outlets toward short-term projects, which increases the workload. Women working in regional media and freelancers are in an even more unstable position due to irregular employment,” says Ruslana Brianska, Executive Director of Hromadske Radio.
According to research conducted by Women in Media NGO and UNESCO, 81% of Ukrainian women journalists experienced online attacks in 2025, including misogynistic insults, sexist language, and defamation campaigns. This creates a dangerous “chilling effect.” Combined with economic instability and persistent stereotypes, these factors form an environment in which it is significantly harder for women to realise their leadership potential.
Solutions
The challenges can be addressed at the personal, editorial, sectoral, and state levels.
The presented policy paper encourages women journalists to unite, share experiences, and highlight success stories. It also emphasises the importance of taking breaks, maintaining clear work schedules, openly recognising misogyny as a systemic phenomenon, using gender-sensitive language, and engaging male allies.
“First of all, we can give ourselves permission to rest. Not to be afraid to take time off and not to wait for a ‘better moment.’ To recognise that rest is necessary not only when something has already gone wrong,” says Yelyzaveta Nechyporuk, Head of Social Media at The Kyiv Independent.
Editorial teams are encouraged to adopt gender equality policies, introduce flexible working arrangements for women with children, and provide health insurance and social benefits.
At the media sector level, the recommendations include creating mentorship networks, working with donors to ensure long-term rather than short-term support, and fostering experience-sharing among Ukrainian and EU media professionals.
“We can talk about unity and mentorship at the sectoral level. It would be great to have psychologists and lawyers shared by several small newsrooms. I truly hope that each of us will be able to contribute our resources, knowledge, and experience to implementing change,” said Oksana Davydenko, Deputy Director for Legal Affairs at Starlight Media.
The state can also play a role by supporting journalist mothers, countering online violence, and providing tax and financial incentives to media outlets that offer social support to their employees.
“In the demographic situation Ukraine is currently facing, it is very naïve to think that women should dismantle all the barriers created for them on their own. If we want Ukraine to exist as a country in 15, 20, or 50 years, women must be placed at the centre of state policies and at the centre of attention in our newsrooms—as individuals, as people with specific needs and responsibilities,” says Mariya Frey.
Mariya Frey emphasised the importance of creating a working environment in which women can be productive, effective, and feel empowered. Such an environment would support not only the media sector but the country as a whole.
The presented recommendations can serve as a starting point for change. Every newsroom and every woman leader can contribute to their dissemination and implementation, as change is always easier when pursued collectively.
“When we feel the power of sisterhood and support, we can achieve much more,” summarised Liza Kuzmenko.
She also noted that the challenges faced by women leaders are the result of structural imbalances rather than personal limitations. Therefore, support should be provided through institutional solutions: transparent processes, fair distribution of workload, flexibility policies, safety mechanisms, and access to resources. It is organisations that must guarantee conditions under which women can effectively perform their duties and develop leadership competencies.
The policy paper can be downloaded via the link.