Kenya has continued to make significant strides in empowering women after a recent report revealed that women rose in occupying senior most positions in businesses by 36 percent in the last two years from zero percent.

The report by a lobby group World Association of News Publishers, or WAN-IFRA, which comes as Kenya joined the globe in celebrating Women’s international day said that the situation was 0 percent in 2022.

“Kenya achieved remarkable growth in business leadership, with women’s representation increasing from 0% in 2022 to 36% in 2024,” reads the report.

It adds: “This approach underscores Kenya’s progress in addressing gender gaps at mid-career levels, fostering a more diverse pipeline for top leadership roles. There is also growing recognition that diverse leadership teams drive innovation, resilience and audience engagement.”

Editorial leadership

On editorial leadership positions, women have continued to take their space standing at 30 percent positions (which include editor-in-chief and editorial director roles).

In Kenya about 27 percent of women hold senior positions as editorial leads.

Tanzania has surpassed us as there are about 57 percent of women holding senior positions as editorial leads.

Somalia has the worst record as it stands at 0 percent.

“Africa recorded significant progress in women’ representation in business leadership, with the proportion rising from 12% in 2022 to 20% in 2024.
This 8% increase marks the highest regional growth across the three markets assessed,” reads the report.

In 2024, 50 organizations made changes in editorial lead positions. Seven replaced a man with a woman; seven replaced a woman with a woman and 36 replaced a man with a man. Globally, Women hold 18% of top business positions (e.g Chief Executive or Managing Director), up from 13% in 2022.

This 5% increase reflects progress but remains far from gender parity.
The Philippines remains a leader in gender equity, with women occupying 60% of editorial leadership positions.

Sustained advocacy

This achievement underscores the importance of sustained advocacy and supportive policies. The Philippines has a long-standing history of prominent women leaders across politics, business and civil society, which has helped normalize female leadership in other sectors, including the media.

A notable example is the election of Corazon Aquino in 1986 as the first woman president.

Additionally, Filipinos place a high value on familial leadership roles and female empowerment, creating a supportive foundation for women to excel in professional settings. As a result, women have risen to prominent roles not only in metropolitan newsrooms but also in grassroots community publications.

Women now hold 24 percent of business and editorial leadership positions, an increase from 21 percent in 2022.

The number of women in overall leadership roles increased by 25, from 73 in 2022 to 98 in 2024.

In the Arab Region, the statistic has changed from one in five of the most senior editorial positions is filled by a woman to one in four.

Despite the achievements, femicide cases are still on the rise.
At least 500 women and girls have been murdered in Kenya since 2016, despite the country’s efforts to prevent gender-based violence, according to the Africa Data Hub, a regional network of data organizations that traces such killings based on newspaper reports.

Last year, Femicide Count Kenya recorded 152 killings – the highest in the past five years.

Recently, President William Ruto appointed a 42-member Technical Working Group on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) to fight the rising gender-based violence and femicide.

Ruto cited the increased cases of GBV and femicide that, according to the president, have continued to cause immense physical, emotional, and economic harm to individuals, families, and communities and existing gaps in prevention, response, investigations, prosecution, data management, and survivor support systems.

The group, which comprises professionals from diverse sectors, has also been tasked with identifying trends and hotspots for GBV, evaluating the adequacy of current laws, and proposing amendments to strengthen enforcement mechanisms.

“The increased cases of GBV and femicide continue to cause immense physical, emotional, and economic harm, exacerbating gender inequalities and impeding sustainable development,” the President stated.