#PushForward4Equality: Women changing the face of Southern Africa’s media

Push forward for equality. That is the message at the heart of the latest Southern African Gender Protocol Barometer launched by Gender Links. Its findings offer a welcome sign of progress: women are becoming more visible in the media, stepping into newsrooms, shaping public debate and telling the stories that influence our societies. For generations, women have had to fight to be seen, heard and taken seriously in spaces where decisions about whose voices matter were largely dominated by men. Today, that landscape is shifting, and that progress deserves both recognition and urgency.

The numbers are powerful. Women’s voices in the media have increased from 17% to 29%, while Lesotho, South Africa and Zambia have reached the 50% mark. In Seychelles, women’s representation has risen to an impressive 87%, and across seven SADC countries, women are now more visible in the media than men. These figures are more than statistics; they represent doors opening, barriers falling and old assumptions about who gets to tell Africa’s stories being challenged. They show that change is possible and already underway. The 2026 Gender and Media Progress Study further shows that women now make up 42% of reporters, up from 31% in 2003, while women slightly outnumber men as television and radio presenters and anchors. Yet, women account for only 29% of news sources, highlighting that while women are increasingly reporting and presenting the news, their voices and perspectives are still not being heard equally within the stories themselves.

But what does this progress really mean? It means that gender equality in journalism across all 16 SADC countries is not an impossible ambition. If some countries can reach major milestones, others can too. The progress we are seeing should not create complacency; it should create momentum. Every newsroom, media house, and country should ask what it will take to make equality the standard rather than the exception. Women are increasingly becoming editors, journalists and decision-makers, proving that they belong not only in newsrooms but also at the tables where editorial choices are made and public discourse is shaped. Beyond numbers, however, progress must also be measured by the quality of reporting, how women and men are portrayed in images, whether stories challenge or reinforce gender stereotypes, and whether journalists are producing gender-aware coverage that reflects the diverse realities and experiences of women and girls. True progress is therefore not only about having more women in journalism, but about transforming the stories being told and ensuring that media actively challenges, rather than reproduces, harmful gender stereotypes.

The region is not starting from zero. The SADC Protocol on Gender and Development, particularly Article 29, calls on member states to develop laws, policies, professional guidelines and codes of conduct that challenge gender discrimination and stereotypes in the media. It also calls for gender to be mainstreamed into media policies, programs, training and practice. These commitments provide a strong foundation, but a difficult question remains: why are they not being fully implemented across all 16 countries? Policies on paper are not enough. Real progress must be visible inside newsrooms, in editorial meetings, in leadership structures and in the stories that reach audiences every day.

This is where we must be honest about the work still ahead. Representation alone is not equality. Women may be entering journalism in greater numbers, but many still face discrimination, online harassment, doxing and gender-based abuse. Too often, women journalists are steered towards “women’s issues,” while politics, economics, business, science and technology remain male-dominated beats. Data from the 2026 Gender and Media Progress Study shows that women’s representation across news beats remains uneven. That must change. Women should have equal opportunities to report on the stories that shape national policy, economies and political debate.

Equality means more than having women in the room. It means giving women equal opportunities to lead, equal platforms to speak, equal protection from abuse and equal power to shape the news. It means creating newsroom cultures where harassment and discrimination are not tolerated as the price of a career. Editors must challenge gender stereotypes when assigning stories. Media institutions must invest in women’s leadership, mentorship and professional development. Governments must strengthen implementation of gender and media commitments and hold institutions accountable for the environments they create.

The Barometer should therefore be read not as a finish line, but as a call to action. The women who have broken barriers have shown what is possible; now that progress must become institutional change. Countries that are lagging behind need clear targets, stronger accountability and practical support. Newsrooms should ask whether women are present only in numbers, or whether they are also leading conversations, setting agendas and covering the full range of public-interest stories. Equality will not happen by accident. It requires decisions, investment and courage.

The numbers are moving, but we cannot afford to move slowly. Across Southern Africa, women are proving every day that they belong in every newsroom, every editorial meeting and every beat — from politics and business to science, technology and the stories that will shape our future. But the goal must go beyond visibility. We must move from representation to real power; from being included to being heard; from being present to being trusted to lead. The question is no longer whether women can do journalism. That has already been answered. The question is whether our media institutions, governments and societies are ready to create environments where women can thrive without discrimination, harassment or fear. The policies exist. The talent exists. The women are ready. Now we need the courage, accountability and collective action to push forward for equality, because when women have an equal voice in the media, they do not simply change the newsroom; they change the stories we tell, the conversations we have, and the society we build.