" The media are a powerful force in shaping how we see the world, what we think, and often how we act. They should be an example of gender equality, depicting women in diverse jobs and situations and representing women in all areas of coverage."

Secrétaire générale adjointe de l’ONU et directrice exécutive d’ONU Femmes, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.

Projet Mondial de Monitorage des Medias (GMMP) 2015

Our History

Directed by Anastasia Mikova and Yann Arthus-Bertrand, the film WOMAN aims at giving women a voice with 2000 interviews conducted in more than 50 countries. To further pursue the work they began with this project, the creative duo and their team have decided to found an NGO, WOMAN(s), which stands for Women On Media And in News School. Its goal is to support the voice of women and young girls in the media.

Working in close collaboration with Anastasia Mikova and Yann Arthus-Bertrand, talented women journalists and their local crew have interviewed women around the world during more than 2 years. Extensive exchanges with these local crews have enabled us to measure the lack of opportunities available for women and girls to pursue a career in the audiovisual industry, and to realize how important it was that women themselves should be able to carry their message to the general public.

Both the media industry and civil society acknowledge how necessary it is for news content to reflect the diversity of the communities they cover and that the presence of female journalists and editors in the newsroom matters greatly when it comes to balancing their reporting. An increasing number of women in decision-making positions in the media, but also at all levels of organisation, is one of the key strategies for promoting gender equality in the media.

It is from this observation—and thanks to the experience of shooting in so many locations throughout the making of WOMAN—that the desire to create the association WOMAN(s) was born, in order to further support the expression of women through their empowerment within the media sector.

Our History

Our Mission

We want to help women and girls around the world to be able to train for a career in the media and film industries. Our association’s mission is to support these women and girls throughout the course of their studies and accompany their pursuit of a professional career in the audiovisual sector as well as to help them establish ties within local, national and international networks and media outlets.

Our Vision

We have a vision for a world where the media industry is inclusive and representative, where female journalists, directors and producers can freely exercise their profession, where they can carry the voices of women, as well as their own, to the general public.

Why support women and girls pursuing careers in the media?

Because...

...the way women are portrayed in the news has a profound impact on social behaviours, in addition to reinforcing the roles traditionally assigned to men and women.

Because...

...increasing the number of female reporters, who currently account for only 37% (global average) of newsroom staff assigned to this position, could likely boost the proportion of stories focused on women, which in turn could enable women to enjoy more freedom of expression in the public sphere.

Because...

...gender discrimination deprives media coverage of the richness of women’s diverse viewpoints and lessens the appeal of media to increasingly conscious global audiences.

Values and Objectives

The association WOMAN(s) is an apolitical and non-confessional independent organisation; it is committed to promoting access to education for women and girls wishing to pursue a career in the media and the audiovisual sector. It wants to encourage and promote the professionalization of these women and girls, and allow them to train in order to enter the world of media.

Convinced that women have an important role to play in the transformation of the audiovisual world towards a more diverse, equitable and inclusive space, we want to strengthen their voice, give them access to key positions in the sector and contribute to the creation of cultural events and networks that support gender equality.

To do so, woman(s) sets itself
2 short and medium term objectives:

Develop, promote and strengthen the skills of women and girls so that they may have access to all the professions in the media industry.

Facilitate exchanges between our members and partners so that they may share their skills and experience.

And in the long term:

Defending and demonstrating the importance of women and gender equality in the media and other professions in France, in the United States, in Europe and internationally.

Training organisations

To begin its action, WOMAN(s) has decided to focus its efforts on 5 countries: France, South Africa, Brazil, India and Lebanon. The targeted beneficiaries are women and girls wishing to study in order to pursue a career in the audiovisual industry. We will prioritize disadvantaged women from modest social backgrounds with minimal education levels. Multi-stakeholder committees—composed of members of academic institutions, representatives of civil society organisations and media professionals—will be created to select beneficiaries and monitor each country’s projects.