Representatives of 15 Ukrainian media participated in the MediaForShe Congress

The MediaForShe Congress brought together 15 Ukrainian media and content producers to discuss the role of the media in promoting gender equality. The event took place on 26 October in Kyiv.

Across three panel discussions, eighteen speakers considered how women are represented in the media, alongside approaches for changing this by creating non-discriminatory content. The event was attended by more than 80 guests from the media sphere, and more than 27,000 viewers joined the live stream.

“In recent years, Ukrainian society has made progress on gender equality issues. In order to solve the problem, you need to see it. The law on sexism in advertising is a progressive step, and each programme should reflect the realities of our lives, not give a distorted picture,” said Olha Herasymiuk, Chair of the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine. 

During the MediaForShe Congress CEOs of 1+1 media, Hromadske and the film production company FILM.UA announced they would sign up to the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs). These are seven principles designed to promote gender equality and to empowering women. As a result of the MediaForShe Congress, 46 per cent of the Ukrainian television companies have now signed the WEPs. 

“Our mission as a media company is to provide content that viewers want. Of course, most of this content is entertainment shows. But, at the same time, I want to see new role models that would inspire women and girls with new heroines. The mission of the media is not only to entertain, but also a platform for educational projects. We need to do something that changes society to fight stereotypes,” commented Valeria Tolochyna, Head of marketing, Megogo streaming platform. 

The MediaForShe Congress brought together storytellers, representatives of different types and media genres. Speakers from Vogue UA, The Village Ukraine, MEGOGO, StarLightMedia and Radio Culture all took part in the discussion panel. 

“Modern media needs to address issues of domestic violence, equality and women's leadership. It seems to me that in co-production with state institutions and public organizations that are gender equality experts, we can experiment and give the audience not only entertaining content,” said Halyna Balan-Timkina, Head of series production, StarLightMedia. 

The panel discussion ‘Responsibility without prejudices’ was devoted to socio-political media. Representatives of BBC News Ukraine, ICTV, Radio Svoboda, Suspilne, Detector media all shared their experiences and challenges. Olena Kondratyuk, the Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, was a special guest of the panel.

“Many editors avoid difficult topics because they are afraid of facing a negative reaction. But the main thing is to keep moving in your way and find your audience. It is necessary to build an open dialogue with newsrooms because it is impossible to build gender-sensitive journalism in a gender-insensitive newsroom. Gender inequality is not a look at the problem, it is a problem we have to solve,” said Angelina Kariakina, general producer of information broadcasting of Suspilne. 

Over the last four years, UN Women Ukraine has held the annual HeForShe Congress. This event unites progressive businesses from different fields on gender equality and non-discrimination. 

This year, the HeForShe Congress transformed into the MediaForShe Congress and focused on the role of the media in achieving gender equality. The congress was held in partnership with StarLightMedia, the first Ukrainian media group to sign the Women's Empowerment Principles. Avon Ukraine was also a special event partner. 

Created by UN Women, the HeForShe solidarity movement for gender equality provides a systematic approach and targeted platform on which men and boys can engage and become change agents towards the achievement of gender equality. Since its launch in 2014, hundreds of thousands of men from around the world including Heads of State, CEOs, and global luminaries, from all walks of life have committed to gender equality. The HeForShe movement in Ukraine is implemented with the financial support of Sweden.