IWMF : International Women's Media Foundation

The IWMF is a proven partner in the kind of change that helps improve lives. IWMF programs support and train journalists, spearhead innovative approaches to reporting on global issues and cultivate a global community of women in the news media. Whether advocating for access, preparing women to tackle complex and controversial assignments, mentoring tomorrow’s newsroom leaders or sponsoring cutting edge research on the role and progress of women in media, the IWMF is a dedicated agent of change.

Global Research on Women in the News Media

The IWMF has begun ground-breaking research on the status of women in the media worldwide. The new study, the Global Report on the Status of Women in the News Media, will measure the career progress of women in the news media and use the results to help advocate for change.

The IWMF also tracks past studies on women in the news media, and will draw from this prior work in compiling the Global Report, which will be published in 2010.

Map of Regional Coordinators

Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship

Former Courage in Journalism Award winner and Boston Globe correspondent Elizabeth Neuffer died in Iraq in 2003. In 2004, the IWMF helped create this extraordinary fellowship in her honor. The nine-month program combines research at MIT’s Center for International Studies Massachusetts with access to the Boston Globe and New York Times.

HIV/AIDS Policymaking

The IWMF has held two programs to help enable women leaders from media, civil society and parliament to respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Six women journalists from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan participated in the Washington, D.C.-based program in December 2009. In June 2008, six women journalists from India, Kenya and Mexico participated in the initiative.

Supported by the Ford Foundation, the projects were collaborative efforts among the IWMF, the Centre for Development and Population Activities and the Center for Women Policy Studies.

Pioneering Change Articles

International Conference

Scheduled for the IWMF’s 20th anniversary year, The International Conference of Women Media Leaders will give women in high-level positions the opportunity to reflect on where women in the news media need to go and how they are going to get there. The purpose of the conference is to create an international plan of action for advancing women journalists worldwide, which will include a roadmap for how to accomplish that change. The conference will be held in March 2011 at the George Washington University Global Media Institute in Washington, D.C.

More about the conference

Supporting Journalists in Trouble

IWMF stands up for women journalists around the globe. Through aggressive advocacy campaigns and its annual Courage in Journalism and Lifetime Achievement awards, IWMF spotlights the courage required to report the news in many parts of the world. Show your support or get involved by clicking below.

En français

L’IWMF, Fondation Internationale des Femmes dans les Médias, a fait ses preuves en tant que partenaire affirmé de ces changements qui améliorent les conditions de la vie. Les projets de l’IWMF soutiennent et forment les journalistes, lancent des approches innovantes en matière de reportage sur les grands thèmes d’impact mondial, soutiennent le leadership des femmes journalistes et cultivent un réseau mondial de femmes travaillant dans les medias et le journalisme.

Reporting on Women and Agriculture

With generous support from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, the IWMF launched Reporting on Agriculture and Women: Africa, a four-year initiative that is energizing the way African media cover one of the most important topics on the continent. The IWMF is helping African journalists to boost coverage of agriculture and rural development and increase women’s voices – both as journalists and as sources – in stories about agriculture. Click here to read more.

Reporting on HIV/AIDS

In the midst of the HIV/AIDS pandemic the IWMF set out to improve health reporting in Africa. Since 1998, the IWMF has trained Africa’s health reporters, elevated the status of health coverage and published two landmark studies, Deadline for Health and Writing for Our Lives. Learn more about the studies and the program.

Online Toolkit for Training

Resources

The IWMF is launching two new projects. The first will enhance reporting on rural development issues in Africa. The second involves groundbreaking research into the status of women in the media worldwide. Click the links below for details on past and present studies and updates on our new women in media study, which will measure the career progress of women journalists over time, then use those results to advocate for change.

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