Representation Matters: Shaping Fairer Media Policies in Africa

When you turn on the news or scroll through a feed, whose voices do you hear? Whose expertise counts as authority?

Across Africa, too many stories still leave out women, rural communities, and other marginalised groups. Visibility in African media still favours a narrow few. Quote This Woman+ will be at the African Women in Media (AWiM) Conference on 4 December, pushing for policies that make fair, diverse coverage the norm – so that when journalists look for experts, they find you.

At a panel called Representation Matters! Policies that get us closer to equitable visibility in African Media, our own Wendy Papo will join journalists and researchers from across Africa to talk about how newsroom practices and media laws can open more space for women and marginalised voices. The panel will be moderated by Rachel Onamusi from VN Sync and includes speakers from South Africa, Mozambique, Ghana and Niger.

At QW+, spaces like this matter. Each one helps shift whose stories are told and whose voices shape public debate. Every time one of you speaks to the media, you help prove that better representation is possible and necessary.

Do you have something important you would like Wendy to give voice to in this discussion?

Email us at hello@quotethiswoman.org.za  and we will pass your thoughts on before the session.

True representation means being heard for what you know and what you stand for, not simply being shown.