The gender gap in news often leads to coverage that fails to properly reflect the experiences of women and dissident genders, identities and expressions – those that exist outside “traditional,” normative frameworks, such as the male/female binary.
Women, for instance, fill just 24% of senior editorial roles across five continents, according to the Reuters Institute. Men are covered 2.5 times more than women in the news.
Having men as gatekeepers of information is “poor journalism,” as it ignores the voices and experiences of women and other identities, said Catalina Ruiz-Navarro, director of Volcánicas, a feminist media outlet from Colombia that prioritizes building safe spaces where women and their diversity are heard and cared for.
“Bringing these voices and giving them space in the first person is key,” said Ruiz-Navarro.
This is why reporters should adopt a “decolonial feminist” approach in their coverage: to humanize the news, and undo modern gender and colonial perceptions. This entails incorporating anti-colonial and anti-racist perspectives, and amplifying marginalized voices and movements.
It requires criticizing ongoing forms of colonialism, too, such as how the media tends to prioritize views from the Global North in news coverage. How stories are framed, interview subjects selected, and events portrayed can reinforce power imbalances between the often former colonial powers of the Global North and the formerly colonized regions of the Global South.
Here’s how reporters can implement a decolonial feminist approach in their coverage:
Defining decolonial feminist journalism
When narratives and sources from the Global North dominate the news, unequal power dynamics and solutions that don’t reflect the lived realities of those most vulnerable to social challenges emerge. Decolonial feminist journalism gives agency to underrepresented voices while criticizing inequalities triggered by capitalism like environmental racism and the feminization of poverty.
The approach provides social and historical context to events, and takes an intersectional lens to its coverage, taking into account the multiple, overlapping identities and experiences individuals have. It interrogates the power relations of colonization and its ongoing consequences, including racism, sexism, environmental degradation, and intergenerational trauma.
Barbara Liborio, content director at AzMina, a Brazil-based feminist magazine, defined decolonial journalism as “gender journalism that allows intersectionalities.”
“There is no universal woman; there are women,” she said, referring to the idea of a “universal woman” experience, which oversimplifies the diversity of struggles women globally face, and masks their unique challenges.
For instance, when journalism focuses primarily on the concerns of white middle-class women, such as corporate glass ceilings and work-life balance – although these are important issues – they can overshadow other forms of oppression, particularly in the Global South, such as poverty, gender-based violence, or lack of access to education and reproductive health.
“Feminist journalism is not just a matter of labeling. It has an agenda based on defending and achieving the rights of women,” said Liborio.
Decolonizing in practice
Journalists are influenced by their “situated knowledge”: the specific material, social, and cultural contexts in which they live. “We are in Latin America, and as Latin American feminists and journalists, our perspective cannot be anything other than decolonial,” said Ruiz-Navarro.
When reporting, the Volcánicas team asks themselves: “How can this serve to advance rights?” Their content prioritizes how to present information that will make an impact on women, girls and dissident genders.
“Relegating gender to a section [in the news] is not a good practice for media outlets to adopt,” said Ruiz-Navarro. “We are a general media, covering culture, sports, politics, social security, entertainment, climate change [...] all with a feminist perspective.”
Decolonial journalism also challenges ideas of who can be “objective” in journalism. Traditionally, reporters have been discouraged from bringing a personal perspective to their writing over concerns that it can detract from impartiality. “We believe that all journalism has an intention and an objective. If you don't know what is your [own perspective], what you are probably doing is channeling your work to defend the status quo, which is nothing more than the patriarchy,” said Ruiz-Navarro.
To incorporate a decolonial feminist approach, newsrooms first need to question their processes, said Liborio. “If media outlets don’t say they are feminists, do they have feminist practices? Do they have a gender perspective? Do they hear from women in remote areas? [Feminist journalism] means doing journalism for women and not only about them,” she said.
Simple practices like diversifying teams and sources and using neutral language are must-do’s. “At AzMina we see feminist journalism as informing women so they can advocate for their rights,” Liborio said.
Moving toward a decolonial feminist newsroom
The media’s role in a democracy, according to the radical democratic political theorist, Chantal Mouffe, is to cultivate dissent and imagine an alternative future.
The following is a checklist to help facilitate a decolonial feminist approach in news coverage:
(1) It has a social function
Journalism should go beyond the mere reporting of facts to being a watchdog, holding power to account and uncovering the truth behind complex gender issues. Its social function is to foster democracy and gender equality, taking into account societies’ diversity.
(2) It reflects the human rights agenda
Journalism should help all people better understand their rights and strengthen their ability to stand up for themselves. A human rights-based agenda can reduce the likelihood of conflicts based on misinformation by increasing people’s mutual understanding of their struggles and increasing opportunities for friendly coexistence.
(3) It amplifies underrepresented voices for gender, climate, and social advocacy
Narratives should provide a platform to amplify the voices of the most marginalized. The greater diversity of sources, the more accurate and comprehensive the reporting will be.
(4) It shares solutions and services
As well as raising the alarm by denouncing crimes such as gender violence and draconian state measures, journalism should produce stories that offer hope and solutions for the most urgent of crises – for the mental health of journalists and their readers alike.
(5) Women and dissident genders are at the center of the narrative
Gender reporting should cover every aspect of life, and center women and dissident genders in this coverage. This includes reporting on climate change, politics, the economy, sports, arts and entertainment, violence against women and girls, and more.
(6) It considers inclusive language
Gendered language should be avoided, flagged and altered. This refers to pronouns and words that can unintentionally exclude, or stereotype individuals based on gender. Ownership and an active desire to shift practices are valuable both for journalists and their readers.
(7) It benefits from a diverse team
Diversifying the reporting team – whether by gender, race, location, etc. – is crucial for bringing new perspectives and approaches to social issues. By better representing the diversity of society, biases can more likely be overcome.
(8) It reports with the rigor of analysis, data and research
Feminist journalism must be precise. It should be rigorous, relying on verifying data, presenting different perspectives, and using AI to support its reporting on a structural patriarchal system.
(9) It provides information in local languages and more accessible formats
Bilingual and multilingual content can bridge understanding between communities, and showcase issues that affect a multicultural audience.
(10) It gives preference to sources and data from the Global South
Journalists should interview sources from the Global South as experts instead of portraying them as victims. They should highlight local solutions, data, research, and science from underreported areas.
Photo by Miguel Bruna on Unsplash.
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