As the international community marks this year’s International Women’s Day, the Federation of Eastern African Journalists has raised concern over the unacceptable working conditions many women journalists continue to endure in both local and international media houses.The federation is urging the media industry, at home and abroad, to move beyond rhetoric and implement meaningful reforms to protect women journalists and media workers. Persistent reports continue to expose serious challenges within international, regional and local news organisations, including gender-based harassment, discrimination, unequal opportunities and widening pay gaps that undermine the safety, dignity and advancement of women employees.Documented cases, alongside broader industry trends, point to deep-rooted structural problems. Past reports and allegations involving major global outlets, including the BBC, CNN, AFP and The New York Times, have highlighted claims of sexual misconduct involving prominent journalists, unequal pay, limited career progression for women, and workplace cultures in which ethnic and cultural biases disproportionately affect women from underrepresented backgrounds. These patterns reinforce environments where women’s contributions are undervalued and their professional growth is curtailed.Women journalists continue to face multiple forms of harm, including sexual harassment and assault, economic inequality, cultural and ethnic discrimination, and stalled career progression. In many cases, unwelcome advances and more serious forms of misconduct are allegedly shielded by institutional protection of perpetrators. Persistent pay gaps and the undervaluation of women’s work continue to expose many to financial insecurity. Women of colour and those from minority backgrounds often face intersecting forms of bias, including racist and sexist stereotypes that further hinder advancement. At the same time, qualified women are too often overlooked for promotion in favour of less experienced male colleagues, entrenching male-dominated leadership structures across the industry.It is a profound contradiction for media institutions that champion transparency, accountability and equality in public discourse to tolerate such conditions within their own organisations. Journalism loses moral force when the principles it seeks to defend are not upheld internally. As International Women’s Day 2026 is observed under themes centred on rights, justice and action for all women and girls, as well as the push to accelerate gender equality, the Federation of Eastern African Journalists is calling on media houses to place internal reform at the top of the agenda.Among the key recommendations is the commissioning of immediate, independent third-party audits of workplace culture, harassment complaints and gender equity practices, with full public disclosure of findings and follow-up measures. The federation is also calling for an end to the use of non-disclosure agreements that silence survivors of harassment or assault and prevent them from speaking openly about their experiences.Media organisations are further being urged to publish verifiable data on pay equity and implement enforceable plans to close gender pay gaps, while also establishing transparent systems to guarantee equal access to promotions and leadership positions. In addition, the federation wants newsrooms to create independent and secure reporting mechanisms for misconduct, separate from internal human resource systems that may be compromised by conflicts of interest.On this International Women’s Day, the Federation of Eastern African Journalists says it stands in solidarity with women journalists everywhere, whether they are working in conflict zones, under authoritarian regimes, or within corporate newsrooms in democratic societies. The struggle for safety, dignity and equal treatment, it says, knows no borders. The federation maintains that it will continue to expose these contradictions, support survivors and push for reform until media organisations fully reflect the human rights standards they so often demand of others.Erick Oduor, President, Federation of Eastern African Journalists