Declaration of Principles of Equity in the News Media
Photo by Kelly Carr
News media leaders – both men and women – can sign on to support the declaration by contacting IWMF’s Nadine Hoffman at
nhoffman[at]iwmf.org. Please include your name, company and title
We, the signatories of this declaration, represent executives and leaders from all media platforms and news organizations around the world.
We believe that just as the credibility of the media is linked to its commitment to the pursuit of accuracy and fairness, the credibility of the news industry rests on its commitment to inclusion as a professional value and equal treatment in newsrooms for women and men media professionals.
Because we share this conviction, we endorse the following principles in this declaration set forth at the International Conference of Women Media Leaders convened by the International Women’s Media Foundation in Washington, D.C., March 22-25, 2011:
1) Media can only be described as truly free if women and men share equal opportunity and voice in the formulation of the news agenda;
2) Women and men have an equal right to pursue the generation and dissemination of information as a professional endeavor; 3) Women media professionals should neither be discriminated against nor favored unduly because of their gender;
4) Women media professionals have the same right to equal compensation as their male counterparts for the same work and responsibilities;
5) Women media professionals have the same right as their male counterparts to aspire to and be considered for decision making positions in their news organizations;
6) Women media professionals have the same right as their male counterparts to aspire to and be considered for any news assignment and/or beat;
7) Women media professionals have the same right to be hired on equal terms and conditions as their male counterparts;
8) Women media professionals have the same right as their male counterparts to equal access to professional and technical training;
9) Women media professionals have the same right as their male counterparts to be protected from harassment of any form by formally stated policies denouncing inappropriate treatment and offering recourse;
10) Gender equity in the news media will only be achieved through a concerted and committed effort of female and male media leaders to address current disparities.
Nadia Al-Sakkaf
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief
Yemen Times
Yemen
Lola Álvarez
Directora General
AGENCIA EFE
Spain
Adriana Arai
Managing Editor, Latin America
Bloomberg News
United States
Shirley M. Carswell
Deputy Managing Editor
The Washington Post
United States
Cristiana Chamorro
Board of Directors
Violeta Chamorro Foundation
Nicaragua
Juhong Chen
Editor-in-Chief
qq.com
China
Khady Diatou Cissé
President/Editor-in-Chief
Synpics/RTS
Senegal
Ilana Dayan
Keshet Broadcasting, Ch. 2
Israel
Maina Dhital
Senior Sub-Editor
Kantipur Daily (Kantipur Publications Pvt. Ltd)
Nepal
Ana D'Onofrio
Deputy Managing Editor
La Nacion
Argentina
Ilona Fanta
Editor-in-Chief
Zhovta Gazeta
Ukraine
Dr. Alexandra Föderl-Schmid
Chefredakteurin
Der Standard
Austria
Amina Frense
Project Manager
South African Broadcasting Association
South Africa
Rossana Fuentes Berain Villenave
VP for Content and Editorial Affairs
Grupo Expansion
Mexico
Maysoun Odeh Gangat
Director
Radio Nisaa FM
Palestine
Béatrice Garrette
Directeur général
Sipa Press
France
Catherine Gicheru
Editor
The Star
Kenya
Rehana Hakim
Editor-in-Chief
Newsline
Pakistan
Moneeza Hashmi
General Manager International Relations/President
Commonwealth Broadcasting Association
HUM TV
Pakistan
Kateryna Ivanova
Editor
Rivne Investigative Reporting Agency
Ukraine
Margarita Kadriu
Editor-in-Chief – Director
Kosova Sot
Republic of Kosova
Barbara Kaija
Editor-in-Chief
New Vision Printing and Publishing Company
Uganda
Bachi Karkaria
Consultant and Columnist
Times of India
India
Farida Karoney
Group Editorial Director
Royal Media Services
Kenya
Olga Kraus
Editor
Novyi Vestnik
Kazakhstan
Nirmala Lakshman
Director and Joint Editor
The Hindu
India
Benita Levin
News Editor: Eyewitness News
Primedia Broadcasting
South Africa
Gwen Lister
Editor
The Namibian
Namibia
Jennifer McGuire
General Manager and Editor-in-Chief
CBC News with Responsibility for the Centres
Canada
Nasima Khan Monty
Executive Director/Newsroom Editor
The Daily Amader Orthoneeti/ATN News
Bangladesh
Farida Nekzad
Director and Editor-in-Chief
Wakht News Agency
Afghanistan
Cosmina Noaghea
General Manager
Mediafax Group
Romania
Yanancy Noguera Calderón
Editor-in-Chief
La Nación
Costa Rica
Ana Marie Pamintuan
Executive Editor
The Philippine Star
Philippines
Teodora Peeva
Editor-in-Chief
Sega Daily
Bulgaria
Eetta Prince-Gibson
Editor-in-Chief
The Jerusalem Report
Israel
Cristina Simion
Managing Director
Edipresse AS Romania
Romania
Debra Adams Simmons
Editor
The Plain Dealer
United States
Margo Smit
Director
Dutch-Flemish Association of Investigative Journalists (VVOJ)
Netherlands
Kjersti Sortland
Features Editor
Verdens Gang
Norway
Steinunn Stefánsdóttir
Deputy Editor
Fréttablaðið newspaper
Iceland
Jacqueline Ann Surin
Editor
The Nut Graph
Malaysia
Karen Amanda Toulon
New York Bureau Chief
Bloomberg News
United States
Gabriela Vivanco S.
Vicepresidente Editorial
LA HORA
Ecuador
Juanita Williams
Deputy Managing Editor
allAfrica.com
South Africa
Jan Winburn
Enterprise Editor
CNN.com
United States
Betty Wong
Global Managing Editor
Reuters News
United States
June H.L. Wong
Managing Editor
Star Publications
Malaysia
Maria Elena Wood
Directora de Programacion
Television Nacional de Chile - TVN
Chile
Laura Zelenko
Managing Editor, Emerging Markets
Bloomberg News
United States
Miriam Mukonde Zimba
Deputy Editor-in-Chief
Times of Zambia
Zambia